Noble Medieval Family Names, Manors and Estates of Lancashire, England - Family Trees.

Notable Family Surnames (with Coat of Arms) in Lancashire, from 1200 - 1600 AD/CE.

There were several 'Revolutions' in history, and this also applies to the great periods of family history too. First, we have the modern era; of industry and technology. Before that, we only have names written on scraps of paper in church records, because generally the common people were illiterate. But there is a wall around 1600 which, if a family line is noble, it might go into it, and this reveals the noble pedigrees of the land. The nobles were those with land, often titles; like Sir or Lady, and had a Coat of Arms which can be traced back.

Surprisingly, perhaps 50% of family names can be traced back to those nobles. Sure, if you have a name like Seed or Cropper or Tanner or Smith, perhaps these lines might be lost to the fields of history. But if your Surname is named after a real place, land, or area, (or it sounds French), then there is a good chance you will break through the wall at some point, into the times of land barons and lords.

Once past the date of the Norman conquest, family surnames either fade into nothing - as the names were born locally at the time of the Doomsday Book, and never existed before. Or sometimes a noble line might go back to the Saxons, Angles or Kentish Jutes, and therefore your line will go on. In Lancashire, the most noble lines go back to the local Welsh, Lancashire and Cumbric 'Kings' - i.e land lords, and from there, back to the Celts, or if your are very lucky, the Romans.

Name Roots:

Key
* = Norman
** = Viking/Sea Kings
*** = Saxon/Norse

This is a list of some noble names on my own tree, along with how far back I traced them, so far. This is not a definitive root list, and the root entries might NOT be the final ones of that line/tree.

Direct
Holden (19th GGM) - Christopher 1391
Houghton (9th GGM) - Padiham (Normandy)*
Parker (15th and 17th GGM) - Sea Kings, via Sea Kings Orkney, Finland **
Towneley (16th GGM) - Spartlingus de Whalley (First Dean Of Whalley), 1070
Waddington - Odin (54th GGF) via Wada, King Wernike, and Hengist (45th GGF) ***
Whittaker (7th GGM) - James, Burnley, 1589

Indirect
Baldwin - Buckinghamshire , 1512
Banastre - Robert de Banastre, Rouen, 1008*
Barcroft - Gilbert of Cliviger, 1171
Baron - Edmond of Great Harwod, 1527
Booth - Adam de Boothe, Malpas, Cheshire, 1220 (prob Norman)
Boothman - Randolphus de Trafford, 1012
Bradshaw - Henry , Manchester 1530
Brook - Illchester in Sumerset, 1155.
Dawson - Azerley Hall (Near Ripon), 1535, Sir Marmaduke D'Ossone, 1180*
Dutton - Sea Kings, Finland, via Malahulc of Normandy**
Dyson - James Dyson, Newchurch in Pendle, 1725
Ewyas - Adalramn II, comte de Laon, King's advisor to Louis II the Stammerer, 825*
Fitton - Hugh de Fitton, 1080
Haworth - Edmund, Rochdale 1535
Hargreaves - John, Altham 1540
Harrington - Robert De Haverington, 1140
Hartley - John, Burnley 1515
Hesketh - Hellarth de HESKAYTH, Calvados, Basse-Normandy, France, 1098*
Holland - Sir Raufe/ Rafe de Longworth de Holland, Longworth Hall, 1098
Houghton - Herverus/ Herocines Watter, Normandy, Fance, 1045*
Ingham - Oliver, Norfolk, 1278
Jackson - Odin via Lascelles of Castle Howard, Horik I, Frodi Line ***
Kendal - Ros of Dunkeld Scotland, 890, Monks of Saint Columba
Kenyon - Hugh de Hindley, Wigan, Lancashire, England, 1000
Lacy - De Lassie, Normandy - possibly Rollo, via 2nd King Normandy, Sea Kings, Finland **
Marsland - Johnathan Marsland, Oldham, 1660
Marsden - Ughtred De Merclesden, Nelson, Lancs, 1055
Mercer - Sir John, Kent, 1420
Middlebrook - Keighley, 1550
Milner - John Milner, Ravenstonedale Hall, Westmorland, England, 1562
Molyneux - Lords of Sefton, Fulbert "The Tanner" de Falaise, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, 978*
Neville - Toxidrie via Balderic "The Teutonic", Charlemagne, Kings of the Franks. 220*
Nowell - Adam, Mearley, Clitheroe, 1240
Nutter - Sir John Nutter, Pendle Forest, 1380
Pilkington - Leonard de Pilkington I, Pilkington, Prestwich, Lancashire, 1050.
Radcliffe - Raoul / Rolf de Taillebois, Tailleblois, Normandie, West Francia, France, 993*
Sherbourne - Robert de Sherburne, Yorkshire, England, 1160
Southworth - Magnus de Halton (Thane), Halton, Lancashire, England, 980
Spencer - Hugh de Berges, Burton-on-the-Wold, 1020
Talbot - Rollo, Sea Kings, Finland. Via 3rd King Normandy (Charlemagne link)**
Tempest - Sea Kings Via Earl of More, Finland **
Trafford - Randolphus de Trafford, Trafford, Lancashire, 1012
Venables - (Cheshire) - Via 1066, Theobald The Trickster, to Comte Thebaldi de Chartres, 777*
Walker - Ralph "Radulphi Rafe" Walker, Hungrill, Bolton by Bowland, 1530
Whittaker - Jobias, Warwickshire, 1042
Wilkinson - David Von Innsbruck 925*
Wilson - Henry (Henrici?) Wilson, Newsholme (near Gisburn), 1690