Wallford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Wallford

What does the name Wallford mean?

The lineage of the name Wallford begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in one of the settlements called Walford in Dorset, Herefordshire, or Shropshire, or in Walford Hall in Warwickshire. 1

"The Somerset Walford occurs as Weala-ford in a charter dated A.D. 682 while the Herefordshire place is Walforde in Domesday Book, and the Shropshire township Waleford and Waliforde in Domesday Book." 2

Another source notes the Herefordshire and Worcestershire place names were recorded as Walorecford in the Domesday Book of 1086. 3

As far as the etymology of the place names are concerned, one source claims the place names mean "Briton ford," 4 while another claims the place names mean "the Welshmen’s Ford [Old English Weála, genit. pl. of Weal(h, a Welshman + ford]". 2

Early Origins of the Wallford family

The surname Wallford was first found in Warwickshire where William de Waleford listed in the Assize Rolls of 1221. Over in Gloucestershire, Henry de Walford was listed there in 1279 and in Somerset, Gilbert Walford was listed there in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. 5

Ricardus de Walleford was listed in the Charter Rolls for Shropshire (Salop), 1316-1317. 2

Early History of the Wallford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wallford research. Another 138 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1572, 1663, 1672, 1752, 1756, 1777, 1778, 1787, 1797, 1823, 1833, 1855 and 1897 are included under the topic Early Wallford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wallford Spelling Variations

Only 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 Wallford has undergone many spelling variations, including Walford, Wallford and others.

Early Notables of the Wallford family

Thomas Walford (1752-1833) was an English antiquary. Born on 14 September 1752, he was the only son of Thomas Walford (d. 1756) of Whitley, near Birdbrook in Essex. He was an officer in the Essex militia in 1777, and was appointed deputy lieutenant of the county in 1778. In March 1797 he was nominated captain in the provisional cavalry, and in May following was gazetted major. Walford died at Whitley on...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wallford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wallford 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 Wallford were among those contributors:

Wallford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Wallford, who arrived in Virginia in 1637 6
Rich Wallford, who landed in Virginia in 1664 6

The Wallford Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Nosce teipsum
Motto Translation: Know thyself.

Sources +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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)