Upward History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Upward family

The surname Upward was first found in Huntingdonshire at Upwood, a parish, in the hundred of Hurstingstone. 1

The place name dates back to Saxon times when it was first recorded as Upwude in 974. 2 By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the parish was known as Upehude 3 and literally meant "higher wood" or "the upper ward, or district" having been derived from the Old English "upp" + "wudu." 2 4

One of the first records of the family was Walter de Upwod who was listed there in 1258. 5

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings for the family both in Huntingdonshire: Thomas de Upwode; and Alice de Upwode. 6

Early History of the Upward family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Upward research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1697, 1776 and 1789 are included under the topic Early Upward History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Upward Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Upward, Upwood, Upwards and others.

Early Notables of the Upward family

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

Upward migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Upward Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Jeremiah Upward settled at Harry's Harbour, Newfoundland, in 1820 7
Edward Upward settled at New Harbour, Newfoundland, in 1835 7
Nehemiah Upward, who settled in Exploits district of Newfoundland in 1874 7

Upward 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. 8

Upward Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Robert Upward, who settled in Jamaica in 1663

Contemporary Notables of the name Upward (post 1700) +

Christopher Upward (1938-2002), English orthographer, notable for designing the system of cut spelling, a system of English-language spelling reform
Sam Upward, British grip trainee, known for his work on The Favourite (2018)
Allen George Upward (1863-1926), British poet, lawyer, politician and teacher
Edward Falaise Upward (1903-2009), British novelist and short story writer from Romford, Essex

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies