Holcroft Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Holcroft Origin:

England

Origins of Holcroft:

According to the early recordings of the spelling of the name, this interesting and unique name was listed with many spellings such as Allcraft, Holdcraft, Holdcroft, Holcroft, Holecroft and possibly others; this is an English surname. It is locational either from what would seem to be a ‘lost’ old hamlet called Holcroft, is the first noted spelling of the surname, or geographical for a person who resided at a small farm (Croft) in a hollow or Dale (hol). Surnames from ‘lost’ hamlets are a feature of the surnames lists of the British Islands. It was thought that at least three thousand surnames do acquire from such places, of which the only public remembrance of the earlier existence in the 21st century, is the surname itself. As to why these places passed has been the subject of many books but basically, it was by changes in agricultural practices, and such natural catastrophes as the famous diseases of the 13th to the 17th century. Examples of records contain as Johannes de Holcroft in the Poll Tax Record from Yorkshire in 1379 and George Holdcroft who married Elizabeth Courtney at St James Clerkenwell in the city of London, in 1668.

Variations:

More common variations are: Houlcroft, Holecroft, Hollcroft, Holcrofft, Howlecroft, Halcroft, Holcraft, Holcorft, Hallcroft, Hollcraft.

England:

The origins of the surname Holcroft appeared in Lancashire where one of the first recordings of the name was Robert de Holecroft who noted in the Assize Rolls in 1246. A few years later, John Holecroft noted in the Premium Rolls of 1327. Lytham [a church in Lancashire] considered in the Domesday Survey under the name of Lidun. It was earlier associated, by the gift of Richard Fitz-Roger, to the priests of Durham, and after the Reformation given to Sir Thomas Holcroft, whose descendant, Sir John, is said to have sold the property in 1606 to Sir Cuthbert Clifton, ancestor of the present king of the palace.

Ireland:

Many of the people with surname Holcroft had moved to Ireland during the 17th century.

United States of America:

Individuals with the surname Holcroft landed in the United States in three different centuries respectively in the 17th, 18th, and 19th. Some of the people with the name Holcroft who arrived in the United States in the 17th century included George Holcroft, who came to Virginia in 1666.

Individuals with the surname Holcroft who landed in the United States in the 18th century included Thomas Holcroft, who landed in Virginia in 1702.

The following century saw more Holcroft surnames arrive. Some of the people with the surname Holcroft who arrived in the United States in the 19th century included William Holcroft settled in Philadelphia in 1828. Thomas Holcroft settled in Philadelphia in 1835. Holcroft came in San Francisco in 1850. Frances Holcroft, aged 9, landed in New York, NY in 1851.

Here is the population distribution of the last name Holcroft: England 995; South Africa 384; Australia 264; United States 227; New Zealand 125; Canada 59; Wales 56; Scotland 39; Ireland 38; United Arab Emirates 23.

Notable People:

Thomas Holcroft (1745–1809) was an English author.

Harold Holcroft (1882–1973) was an English railway engineer.

Blazons & Genealogy Notes

1) (Holcroft, co. Lancaster). (Vale Royal, co. Chester). Ar. a cross and bordure engr. sa., quartering Culcheth. Crest—A raven, wings elevated, holding in the dexter claw a sword all ppr.
2) (alias Henley) Ar. a cross within a bordure engr. sa. Crest—An eagle, wings expanded sa. holding in the dexter claw a sword ar. hilt and pommel or.
3) (Balkerton, co. Nottingham). Ar. on a cross engr. sa. a fleur de-lis or, a bordure engr. of the second. Crest—An eagle gu. holding in the dexter claw a sword in pale ar. hilt and pommel or, charged on the breast with a fleur-de-lis of the last.
4) Sa. four quatrefoils ar.
5) Ar. a cross engr. sa. a bordure of the last.
6) Ar. a fesse and a bordure engr. sa.
7) Ar. a cross and bordure gu.