Standard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Standard

What does the name Standard mean?

The name Standard came to England with the ancestors of the Standard family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Old English personal name Stanehard, meaning stone hard.

Early Origins of the Standard family

The surname Standard was first found in Suffolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, Stanard, Stannard, Stanhard, Stanhert all appear in the Domesday Book as tenants of properties in Bury St Edmunds. 34 Knights were registered to the town.

Early History of the Standard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Standard research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1222, 1327 and 1450 are included under the topic Early Standard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Standard Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Stannard, Stanard, Stanhert, Stanart, Stanhart, Stonhard, Stonnard, Stonard, Stonerd, Stannert and many more.

Early Notables of the Standard family

More information is included under the topic Early Standard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Standard Ranking

In the United States, the name Standard is the 9,388^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Standard migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Standard name or one of its variants:

Standard Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Standard, who landed in Virginia in 1718 3
Thomas Standard, who arrived in Virginia in 1723 3

Standard Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

W L Standard, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3

Standard Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Orville L. Standard, aged 34, arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Dante Alighieri" from Marseilles, France 4
Sarah Standard, aged 30, who arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Carmania" from Liverpool, England 4
James Standard, aged 20, originally from Bridgetown, Barbados, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Avare" from Barbados, British West Indies 4
William Albert Standard, aged 26, originally from Barbados, St. John, who arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Vestris" from Barbados, British West Indies 4
Adeline Standard, aged 29, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentine, who arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Vauban" from Barbados, British West Indies 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Standard (post 1700) +

Jeff Standard, American Republican politician, Chair of Warren County Republican Party, 2002 5

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html