Trafford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Trafford family

The surname Trafford was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times at Trafford, before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Randolphus Trafford lived about the year 1030 and was Lord of the manor of Trafford. His son Randolphus (Randolphus filius Radulphi) died about the year 1080. However, two other references claims the progenitor of the family was Ralph de Trafford who died about 1050. 1 2Trafford is today a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester but claims its origin from as an Anglo-French version of "Stratford," deriving from the Old English words stræt (a Roman road) and ford (a river crossing). Combined the place name meant "ford on a Roman road." 3 Later the parish of Wilmslow in Cheshire was an ancient family seat. "The church is a handsome and very ancient structure in the decorated and later English styles, with a square tower; it comprises a nave, chancel, and two aisles, of which the east end of one and the west end of the other are inclosed as sepulchral chapels, for the families of Dunham and Trafford." 4 The same church includes an inscription to Henry Treffort, rector, 1537. Sir Thomas Joseph de Trafford, Bart. was patron of the parish.

Early History of the Trafford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Trafford research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1284, 1288, 1309, 1334, 1426, 1444, 1495, 1514, 1526, 1590, 1599, 1603, 1617, 1620 and 1773 are included under the topic Early Trafford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Trafford Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Trafford, Trafforde, Traford and others.

Early Notables of the Trafford family

Notables of the family at this time include

Sir Henry de Trafford (died c. 1288) was knighted before 1284
Sir Henry Trafford, knighted at Whitsuntide in 1426
Sir John Trafford, knighted c. 1444
Sir Edmund Trafford, (died 1514) knight of the Bath in 1495
Sir Edmund Trafford (1526-1590)

Trafford migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Trafford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Charles Trafford, who settled in America in 1768

Trafford 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:

Trafford Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Rawson Trafford, who landed in Wanganui, New Zealand in 1840
Mr. E. L Trafford, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen Bee" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th February 1871 5
Mrs. Maria Trafford, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen Bee" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th February 1871 5
Mr. Trafford, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Norfolk" arriving in Wellington, North Island, New Zealand on 18th June 1880 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Trafford (post 1700) +

Rodney Trafford (b. 1978), former American football tight end
Mason Trafford (b. 1986), American-born, Canadian soccer player
Stanley John "Stan" Trafford (1945-2020), English footballer and cricketer
Sir John Humphrey de Trafford (b. 1950), 7th Baronet of Trafford Park, English peer
Sir Dermot Humphrey de Trafford (1925-2010), 6th Baronet of Trafford Park, English peer
Sir Rudolph Edgar Francis de Trafford (1894-1983), 5th Baronet of Trafford Park, English peer
Sir Humphrey Edmund de Trafford (1891-1971), 4th Baronet of Trafford Park, English peer
Sir Humphrey Francis de Trafford (1862-1929), 3rd Baronet of Trafford Park, English peer
Sir Humphrey de Trafford (1808-1886), 2nd Baronet of Trafford Park, English peer
Sir Thomas Joseph de Trafford DL (1778-1852), 1st Baronet, a member of a prominent family of English Roman Catholics
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Trafford family +

HMS Cornwall

Claude Victor Trafford, British Schoolmaster aboard the HMS Cornwall (1942) when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he survived the sinking 7

Citations +

Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
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.
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A