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![Show Contents]() Strongfellow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The name Strongfellow comes from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It was a name for a strong person. Strongfellow is a nickname surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress. This surname derives from the Old English words streng and felaw, which mean strong and fellow. However, some believe that the name was an occupational name for "the stringer, a marker of bow-strings." 1 As far as the origin of the name, this source continues "All surnames with the suffix '-fellow' seem to have sprung from the North of England, especially from co. York." Early Origins of the Strongfellow familyThe surname Strongfellow was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat. This curious name emerged during the 12th century when it was the custom to adopt a nickname to assert one's prowess and stature in battle. Notable amongst this type of name was Strongbow, sobriquet of the Earl of Pembroke in his invasion of Ireland in 1172. Strongitharm may be a corruption of one English branch of the Scottish Clan Armstrong. Strongfellow, the first version of Stringfellow, and conjecturally all three names are of the Yorkshire branch of Armstrong. Both Strongfellow and Stringfellow have registered the same Coat of Arms and thus seals the obvious connection between these two names. The Yorkshire reference is of no doubt as early rolls revealed: John le Strengfelagh was listed in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield; 2 Laurencius Stryngefelagh was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls in 1379 1; and finally John Strynefelowe was listed in Yorkshire in 1489. Some of the family appeared in Cheshire in early times too, as seen by John le Stengfelagh in 1308; and John Strengfellow, of Openshaw, who was listed in the Wills of Chester in 1616. The same the same source listed Richard Strengfellow, of Rochdale in 1617. Early History of the Strongfellow familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Strongfellow research. Another 34 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1530, 1799 and 1883 are included under the topic Early Strongfellow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Strongfellow Spelling VariationsOnly 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 Strongfellow has undergone many spelling variations, including Strongfellow, Stringfellow and others. Early Notables of the Strongfellow familyMore information is included under the topic Early Strongfellow Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 Strongfellow 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 Strongfellow were among those contributors:
Strongfellow Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Samuel Strongfellow, who arrived at New York in 1862
- Samuel Strongfellow, aged 27, who landed in New York in 1862 3
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- 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)
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Strongfellow migration to the United States 
