Setliff Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Setliff is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the area known as Sutcliffe which had three locations in the county of Yorkshire. The surname Setliff is a habitation name that was originally derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The surname originated as a means of identifying individuals from a particular area. In the Middle Ages people often assumed the name of the place that they originally lived as their surname during the course of travel. In this case the surname was originally derived from the Old English words sùd meaning south and clif meaning slope or cliff. Therefore the original bearers of the name were referred to as the dwellers by the south cliffs.

Setliff Early Origins

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The surname Setliff was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. The name was originally spelled Cartcliff, later becoming Skatcliffe, late Scaytcliffe, later Scaitliffe, later Scaytcliffe, later Skaitcliff, and later particularly when the branches included Yorkshire, Sutcliffe. From about 1470 the Crossleys acquired Skatclyffe Hall in the parish of Rochdale in Lancashire, and continued a series of intermarriages with their cousins in Yorkshire.

Setliff Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Setliff family name include Sutcliff, Sutcliffe, Sutliff, Southcliffe and many more.

Setliff Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Setliff research. Another 231 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1550 and 1629 are included under the topic Early Setliff History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Setliff Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Setliff Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Setliff surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Setliff Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Abram Setliff, aged 64, who settled in America, in 1907

Contemporary Notables of the name Setliff (post 1700)

Adam Setliff (b. 1969), American discus thrower at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics

Motto

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Foy en tout
Motto Translation: Faith in all

Setliff Family Crest Products

Citations

Other References

Best, Hugh. Debrett's Texas Peerage. New York: Coward-McCann, 1983. Print. (ISBN 069811244X).
Fairbairn. Fairbain's book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland, 4th Edition 2 volumes in one. Baltimore: Heraldic Book Company, 1968. Print.
Humble, Richard. The Fall of Saxon England. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-88029-987-8).
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X).
Leeson, Francis L. Dictionary of British Peerages. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1986. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-1121-5).
Le Patourel, John. The Norman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-19-822525-3).
Lennard, Reginald. Rural England 1086-1135 A Study of Social and Agrarian Conditions. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959. Print.
Markale, J. Celtic Civilization. London: Gordon & Cremonesi, 1976. Print.
MacAulay, Thomas Babington. History of England from the Accession of James the Second 4 volumes. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1879. Print.
Colletta, John P. They Came In Ships. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993. Print.
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The Setliff Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Setliff Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 3 February 2017 at 08:21.