Show ContentsStainthorpe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Stainthorpe is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Stainthorpe family once lived in the village of Stanford that was found in at least ten parishes in England.

Early Origins of the Stainthorpe family

The surname Stainthorpe was first found in Staffordshire but was found in various counties including: Stanford, Kent; Stanford Bishop, Herefordshire; Stanford Dingley, Berkshire; Stanford in the Vale; and Stanford le Hope in Essex. The name literally means "stone ford" or "stony ford" [1] and was listed in the Domesday Book in numerous places too. The Stainforth variant called Darnall in Yorkshire their ancient family seat. "The Hall [of Darnall], built by the Staniforths, was the residence of that family for several generations, and afterwards a seat of the late Duke of Norfolk's." [2]

Early History of the Stainthorpe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stainthorpe research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1175 and 1461 are included under the topic Early Stainthorpe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stainthorpe 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 Stainthorpe family name include Stamford, Stanford, Staniford, Staniforth, Stainforth, Stannford, Stanforth and many more.

Early Notables of the Stainthorpe family

More information is included under the topic Early Stainthorpe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Stainthorpe family to Ireland

Some of the Stainthorpe 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.

Migration of the Stainthorpe family

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 Stainthorpe surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Stamford who settled in Virginia in 1624; Francis Stanford, his wife Grace, and six children arrived in Philadelphia in 1683; Robert Stanford and his wife Mary and son Robert arrived in Barbados in 1678.


Contemporary Notables of the name Stainthorpe (post 1700) +

  • L. G. Stainthorpe, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1944 [3]
  • Aaron Stainthorpe (b. 1968), English vocalist for doom metal band My Dying Bride


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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