Show ContentsSalkeld History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Salkeld family

The surname Salkeld was first found in Cumberland where the Pipe Rolls of 1210 list Hamo de Salkil as holding lands there at that time. Sixty years later, Thomas de Salkild was listed in the Assize Rolls for Northumberland in 1279. 1

Great and Little Salkeld date back to c. 1110 when they were collectively known as Salchild having been derived from the Old English "salh" + hylte" and literally meant "sallow-tree wood." 2

Another source claims the place name is from the Viking "selia" + "kelda" and literally meant "the willow tree spring."

"There is a mineral spring on the common having chalybeate properties." 3

"The family so called, very influential in Cumberland in the XIV. century, probably derived their name from either Great or Little Salkeld, in that county." 4

"The church tower [of Great Salkeld], which appears to have contained four rooms one above another, was formerly resorted to as a place of security, and under it is a dungeon." 5

The Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III had two listing for the family in Cumberland: John de Salkild; and Thomas de Salkeld. Both were listed "20 Edward I," or in other words "during the twentieth year of King Edward I's reign." 6

Early History of the Salkeld family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Salkeld research. Another 212 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1270, 1475, 1544, 1560, 1576, 1593, 1610, 1613, 1635, 1646, 1651, 1652, 1659, 1660, 1671, 1688, 1699 and 1715 are included under the topic Early Salkeld History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Salkeld Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Salkeld has been recorded under many different variations, including Salkeld, Salked, Salkeed, Salkelds and others.

Early Notables of the Salkeld family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Sir Richard Salkeld of Corby, Thomas Salkeld, High Sheriff of Cumberland in 1544
  • John Salkeld (1576-1660), was an English Catholic renegade and author, descended from the Salkelds of Corby Castle, Cumberland. "He was possibly of Queen's College, Oxford, but did not graduate, and w...
  • William Salkeld (1671-1715), was an English legal writer, the son of Samuel Salkeld of Fallowden, Northumberland, who died in 1699, and came of an ancient Cumberland family. 7 Lancelot Salkeld (1...

Ireland Migration of the Salkeld family to Ireland

Some of the Salkeld family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Salkeld migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Salkeld or a variant listed above:

Salkeld Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Salkeld, who landed in Maryland in 1651-1662 8
Salkeld Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Thomas Salkeld, who settled in Virginia in 1728
Salkeld Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • E. S. Salkeld, aged 23, who landed in America from Galeshead, in 1904
  • Digby Salkeld, aged 10, who settled in America from London, in 1907
  • Frederick Salkeld, aged 23, who immigrated to the United States from Morecambe, England, in 1907
  • Charles Salkeld, aged 42, who landed in America from London, England, in 1908
  • Ada Alice Salkeld, aged 31, who landed in America from Sheffield, England, in 1910
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Salkeld migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Salkeld Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century
  • Alexander Salkeld, aged 29, who settled in Porcupine, Canada, in 1913

New Zealand Salkeld migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Salkeld Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Salkeld, (b. 1832), aged 27, English joiner, from Cumberland travelling from London aboard the ship "Robert Small" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 29th January 1860 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Salkeld (post 1700) +

  • Roger William Salkeld (b. 1971), American former Major League Baseball player who played from 1993 to 1996, grandson of Bill Salkeld
  • William "Bill" Franklin Salkeld (1917-1967), American Major League Baseball catcher who played from 1945 to 1950
  • Jo Ann M. Salkeld, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kentucky, 1996, 2000 10
  • Philip Salkeld VC (1830-1857), English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the first person to be awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously
  • Trent Salkeld, Australian rugby league footballer who played for the Newcastle Knights in 2005
  • John Louis Salkeld (1858-1941), Canadian farmer and politician from Stratford, Ontario who represented Moosomin in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1917 to 1925
  • Blanaid Salkeld (1880-1959), Irish poet, dramatist, and actor


  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  5. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  6. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  7. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  8. 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)
  9. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  10. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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