Show ContentsWinslow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The lineage of the name Winslow begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in Buckinghamshire. The family name Winslow is derived from the Old English personal name Wine, meaning friend, and the Old English word hlaw, meaning hill or mound, and means that the original bearer of the name lived near a hill owned by someone name Wine.1

Early Origins of the Winslow family

The surname Winslow was first found in Buckinghamshire, at Winslow, today a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Cottesloe with a population today of about 4,500. The town dates back to 795, when it was listed as Wineshlauu as land given by King Offa to the Abbey of St. Alban's. Years later in the Domesday Book, it was listed as Weneslai, land held by the Bishop of Lisieux and at that time was in the Murley Hundred and the manor there belonged to the Church of St. Alban. 2

Apart from being the source of this distinguished family's heritage, the market-town and parish of Winslow was well known in the 1800s for another reason which would be quite out of place today. "The white poppy was so successfully grown here, in 1821, as to produce 60lb. of opium, worth at least £75, from four acres, and 143lb. in the next year from eleven acres; for which, on both occasions, the prize of 30 guineas was awarded by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce." 3

Early History of the Winslow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Winslow research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1595, 1607, 1620, 1633, 1636, 1644, 1655 and 1663 are included under the topic Early Winslow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winslow 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 Winslow has undergone many spelling variations, including Winslow, Winselow, Winsloe and others.

Early Notables of the Winslow family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • Edward Winslow (1595-1655), an English Pilgrim leader on the Mayflower who served as the 3rd, 6th and 10th Governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633, 1636, and finally in 1644. Born at Droitwich, near Worce...

Winslow Ranking

In the United States, the name Winslow is the 1,998th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 4


Winslow 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 Winslow were among those contributors:

Winslow Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Winslow and his wife Mary settled in Massachusetts in 1620
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Winslow, (nee Barker), (1593-1621), who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 aboard the ship "Mayflower" 5
  • Gilbert Winslow, (1600-1631), from Worcestershire arrived at Plymouth Massachusetts in 1620 aboard the "Mayflower" 5
  • Edward Winslow, (1595-1655), who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 aboard the ship "Mayflower", he became a prominent man in the colony 5
  • Susanna White Winslow, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Winslow Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Charles Winslow, who landed in Iroquois County, Illinois in 1884 5

Winslow migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Winslow Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • John Winslow, who landed in Anapolis (Annapolis), Nova Scotia in 1760
  • Mr. Edward Winslow U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 6
  • Miss. Hannah Winslow U.E. born in Massachusetts, USA who settled in Carleton [Saint John City], New Brunswick c. 1784 6
  • Miss. Penelope Winslow U.E. born in Massachusetts, USA who settled in Carleton [Saint John City], New Brunswick c. 1784 6
  • Miss. Sarah Winslow U.E. born in Massachusetts, USA who settled in Carleton [Saint John City], New Brunswick c. 1784 6
Winslow Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Went Winslow, who arrived in Canada in 1816
  • George Winslow, who settled in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland in 1872 7

Winslow migration to Australia +

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

Winslow Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • William Winslow, aged 19, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Coromandel" 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Winslow (post 1700) +

  • Thomas Griffin "Tom" Winslow (1940-2010), American folk singer and writer, best known as a "disciple" of Reverend Gary Davis and a former member of Pete Seeger's band
  • Thomasina Winslow (1965-2023), American blues musician from the Albany, New York area, daughter of folk musician Tom Winslow
  • Admiral Cameron Cameron McRae Winslow (1854-1932), United States Navy officer during the Spanish-American War and World War I
  • Rickie O'Neal Winslow (b. 1964), retired American professional basketball player
  • Kellen Boswell Winslow Sr. (b. 1957), American former professional football player, inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame, one of the greatest tight ends in the league's history
  • Charles Frederick Winslow (1811-1877), American physician, diplomat, and world traveler
  • Charles-Edward Amory Winslow (1877-1957), American bacteriologist and public health expert
  • Brett Winslow (b. 1967), American Olympic volleyball player
  • Michael Winslow (b. 1958), American actor and comedian, known as the "Man of 10,000 Sound Effects," known for his comedic role in all seven Police Academy films and in Spaceballs
  • Kellen Boswell Winslow II (b. 1983), American NFL football tight end for the New York Jets
  • ... (Another 57 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


Suggested Readings for the name Winslow +

  • The Quaker and Southern Winslows by Elizabeth Doherty Herzfeld.
  • Tracing Shadows: The Record of a 19th Century Vermont Family, Their Ancestors and Descendants by Elizabeth Sharpe Lincoln.
  • The Winslows of Careswell in Marshfield by Betty Magoun Bates.

  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  5. 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)
  6. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  7. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
  8. South Australian Register Tuesday 9th January 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Coromandel 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/coromandel1855.shtml


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