Alford

Alford
This is a truly ancient locational surname. It apparently originates from the villages of Alford in Lincolnshire, Surrey and Somerset or possibly from some now 'lost' medieval site of the same spelling. The Lincolnshire village name is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as commissioned by William the Conqueror, in the spelling of 'Alforde'. This, according to the Dictionary of English Place Names means the 'ford by the temple', the latter being a place of pagan worship. A secondary possible meaning given is the 'ford by the alder trees', and logically this would seem a more likely explanation. Curiously the meaning for the Somerset village is given as 'the ford of Ealdgyp', which translates as the 'ford of the old woman!' Early examples of the surname recording include John Alforde of Somerset in the historic rolls known as 'Kirby's Quest' for the year 1273, whilst John de Aldeforde is recorded in the Hundred Rolls of that county for the same year. In 1634 Thomas Alford of Wiltshire married Benedicata Berrisford at St Georges Chapel, Hanover Square, London, whilst in 1763, Betty Alford married John Ruston at the same church. The ancient arms of Alford has the blazon of a red field, charged with a silver cross moline. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de Aldeforde, which was dated 1184, in the Annales Cestrienses Rolls of Lancashire and Cheshire, during the reign of King Henry 11, known as 'the church builder', 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alford — may refer to:PlacesUnited Kingdom*Alford, Aberdeenshire in Scotland **Vale of Alford Railway *Alford, Lincolnshire, a town in England **Alford Manor House **Alford Windmill **Queen Elizabeth s Grammar School, Alford *Alford, Somerset, a village… …   Wikipedia

  • Alford — ist der Name mehrerer Orte: im Vereinigten Königreich: Alford (Aberdeenshire), Schottland Alford (Lincolnshire), England Alford (Somerset), England in Kanada: Alford (Saskatchewan) in den Vereinigten Staaten: Alford (Florida) Alford (Indiana)… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alford —    ALFORD, a parish, in the district of Alford, county of Aberdeen, 26 miles (W. N. W.) from Aberdeen; containing 1037 inhabitants. This place, of which the name is of uncertain derivation, is situated in the south western portion of a district… …   A Topographical dictionary of Scotland

  • Alford — Alford, FL U.S. town in Florida Population (2000): 466 Housing Units (2000): 235 Land area (2000): 1.283974 sq. miles (3.325477 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.023005 sq. miles (0.059583 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.306979 sq. miles (3.385060 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Alford, FL — U.S. town in Florida Population (2000): 466 Housing Units (2000): 235 Land area (2000): 1.283974 sq. miles (3.325477 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.023005 sq. miles (0.059583 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.306979 sq. miles (3.385060 sq. km) FIPS code …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Alford — Alford, Stadt in der englischen Grafschaft Lincoln; 1600 Ew: Gesundbrunnen …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Alford — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Alford peut désigner : Sommaire 1 Patronyme 2 Toponyme …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alford — 1 Original name in latin Alford Name in other language Alford State code GB Continent/City Europe/London longitude 57.23257 latitude 2.70298 altitude 149 Population 2237 Date 2011 10 30 2 Original name in latin Alford Name in other language… …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Alford Windmill — (pron. Olford Windmill in Lincolnshire) is a five sailed windmill in Alford, Lincolnshire and the only surviving windmill out of four. Today the windmill has been restored to working order, and grinds grain to organic flour. It is open as a… …   Wikipedia

  • Alford (Angleterre) — Alford Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Alford peut désigner : Sommaire 1 Patronyme 2 Toponyme 2.1 …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”