Rumford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The lineage of the name Rumford begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in Middlesex, where they took their name from the place-name Romford, which means "wide ford," and was probably one of the principle crossings of the River Thames before Romford was absorbed by the Greater London. The place-name was recorded as Romfort in 1177. 1

Early Origins of the Rumford family

The surname Rumford was first found in Essex at Romford, a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the liberty of Haveringatte-Bower. "It is supposed by Dr. Stukeley to occupy the site of the Roman station Durolitum, and he considers its name to be a contraction of Romanford." 2

Early History of the Rumford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rumford research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1233 is included under the topic Early Rumford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rumford Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Rumford has undergone many spelling variations, including Rumford, Romford, Rumfitt and others.

Early Notables of the Rumford family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

John Rumford of Essex

Rumford migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Rumford were among those contributors:

Rumford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Geo Rumford, who landed in Virginia in 1705 3
William Rumford, aged 22, settled in Maryland in 1775

Contemporary Notables of the name Rumford (post 1700) +

Benjamin Thompson Rumford (1753-1814), American administrator
William Byron Rumford (d. 1986), American Democratic Party politician, Member of California State Assembly, 1948-66; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1956, 1960, 1964 4
Robert Henry Kennerley Rumford (1870-1957), popular British singer

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html