Worcester History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Worcester family

The surname Worcester was first found in Worcestershire where one of the first records of the name was John of Worcester (died circa 1140), an English monk and chronicler. He is generally believed to have authored the Chronicon ex chronicis, a world wide history which begins with the creation and ends in 1140.

Florence of Worcester (died 1118), (Latin: Florentius) was another monk who probably contributed to the same work.

Years later, Roger of Worcester (died 1179) was Bishop of Worcester from 1164 to 1179 and played a critical role in the controversy between Henry II of England, (Roger's cousin,) and Archbishop Thomas Becket. Sylvester of Worcester would later become Bishop of Worcester (1216-1218.)

Early History of the Worcester family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Worcester research. Another 63 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1180, 1290, 1402, 1415, 1482, 1567, 1622, 1658, 1669 and 1689 are included under the topic Early Worcester History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Worcester Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Worcester, Wuster, Worster, Wooster, Wostear, Wircester and many more.

Early Notables of the Worcester family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

William Worcester or William of Worcester (c.?1415- c.?1482), an English chronicler and antiquary from Bristol. He was the son of William de Worcester, a substantial burgess of Bristol, and Elizabeth...

Worcester Ranking

In the United States, the name Worcester is the 8,417^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Worcester migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Worcester Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Worcester, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1639 2
Samuel Worcester, who landed in New England in 1670 2

Worcester migration to Australia +

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

Worcester Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Elizabeth Worcester, English convict who was convicted in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 20th June 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Worcester (post 1700) +

Samuel Thomas Worcester (1804-1882), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio (1861-18/63)
Samuel Worcester (1770-1821), American clergyman
Samuel Austin Worcester (1798-1859), American missionary to the Cherokee, translator of the Bible, printer and defender of the Cherokee's sovereignty
Sir Robert Milton Worcester KBE, DL (b. 1933), American founder of MORI (Market & Opinion Research International Ltd.)
Dean Conant Worcester FRGS (1866-1924), American zoologist, public official, and authority on the Philippines
Joseph Emerson Worcester (1784-1865), American lexicographer who was part of the "dictionary wars" with competitor Noah Webster of Webster's Dictionary
Noah Worcester (1758-1837), American Unitarian clergyman
Aaron Worcester Sawyer, American politician, Member of New Hampshire State Senate 7th District, 1857-59; Justice of New Hampshire State Supreme Court, 1876-77 4
Evarts Worcester Farr (1840-1880), American Republican politician, Member of New Hampshire Governor's Council, 1876; U.S. Representative from New Hampshire 3rd District, 1879-80 5

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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 11th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html