Traherne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

The Traherne surname comes from the ancient Welsh personal name Trahern. Some instances of the surname are derived from the name of the settlement of Trehane in Cornwall.

Early Origins of the Traherne family

The surname Traherne was first found in Flintshire (Welsh: Sir y Fflint), a historic county, created after the defeat of the Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd in 1284, and located in north-east Wales, where they held a family seat at Trehaverne (Tregavran) which was referenced in the Domesday Book.

This area is now known as Kenywn and is a civil parish in Cornwall. Kenwyn is now regarded as a suburb of the city of Truro and gives its name to one of three rivers that flow through the city. However, the surname is believed to be descended from Traherne (Trahaearn ap Caradog) son of Caradoc, Prince of North Wales in 1073. 1

Today Trehan is a hamlet near Saltash in Cornwall, England.

Early History of the Traherne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Traherne research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1558, 1603, 1635, 1636, 1644, 1674 and 1686 are included under the topic Early Traherne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Traherne Spelling Variations

Welsh surnames are relatively few in number, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. There are many factors that explain the preponderance of Welsh variants, but the earliest is found during the Middle Ages when Welsh surnames came into use. Scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, which often resulted in a single person's name being inconsistently recorded over his lifetime. The transliteration of Welsh names into English also accounts for many of the spelling variations: the unique Brythonic Celtic language of the Welsh had many sounds the English language was incapable of accurately reproducing. It was also common for members of a same surname to change their names slightly, in order to signify a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations. For all of these reasons, the many spelling variations of particular Welsh names are very important. The surname Traherne has occasionally been spelled Traherne, Trahern, Treherne, Trehern, Traherne, Trahairn, Trahearne, Trahane, Trahan, Trehearn, Trahearn, Trehane and many more.

Early Notables of the Traherne family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

Thomas Traherne (1603-1644) and his son, Philip Traherne, or Traheron (1635-1686) was an English diplomat, author of books
Thomas Traherne MA (1636-1674), was an English poet and religious writer, born in Hereford

Traherne migration to the United States +

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many people from Wales joined the general migration to North America in search of land, work, and freedom. These immigrants greatly contributed to the rapid development of the new nations of Canada and the United States. They also added a rich and lasting cultural heritage to their newly adopted societies. Investigation of immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Traherne:

Traherne Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Traherne, who landed in Virginia in 1658 2
Margaret Traherne, who arrived in Maryland in 1665 2
Anne Traherne, who landed in Maryland or Virginia in 1667 2
George Traherne, who arrived in Maryland in 1669 2

Traherne migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Traherne Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Traherne, British convict who was convicted in Hereford, Herefordshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3

Traherne migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4

Traherne Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Lewis Traherne, who landed in Jamaica in 1664 2
Samuel Traherne, who arrived in Jamaica in 1664 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Traherne (post 1700) +

John Montgomery Traherne (1788-1860), Welsh antiquary, the eldest son of Llewelyn Traherne of Coedriglan, St. George's-super-Ely, Glamorganshire
Sir Cennwydd Traherne, Lord Lieutenant of Mid, south and west Glamorgan

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies