Bradford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Bradford

What does the name Bradford mean?

The Bradford name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in or near one of the many places called Bradford in England, which were found in Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon, Northumberland, and the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Bradford literally means broad ford.

One source claims that the family came from "a town on the Avon, in Wiltshire, England, whence the surname is derived, and which signifies the broad ford, there being at that place a ford across the Avon." 1

Early Origins of the Bradford family

The surname Bradford was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Bradford, a borough, market-town, and parish, and the head of a union, in the wapentake of Morley. "This place during the heptarchy formed part of the extensive parish of Dewsbury, from which it appears to have been separated soon after the Conquest. The manor of Bradford, which in the Domesday Survey is described as a barren waste, was given to Ilbert de Lacy, who attended the Conqueror from Normandy, and fought under his standard at the battle of Hastings. Ilbert had 150 other manors in the county, which he formed into a seigniory, called the Honour of Pontefract." 2

While it is generally thought the family hailed from Yorkshire, we must look to Northumberland for the first recording of the family. For it is there that Hodgson's History of Northumberland lists Alexander de Bradeford in 1197.

Later the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 eluded to the wide popularity of the name throughout ancient Britain: Hugh de Bradeford, Devon; John de Bradeford, Wiltshire; and Alex, de Bradeford, Northumberland. 3

Ironically, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 had only one listing of the family there at that time: Johannes de Bradeford. 3

Early History of the Bradford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bradford research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1206, 1510, 1555, 1590, 1624, 1652, 1657, 1658, 1660, 1663, 1703, 1731, 1739 and 1752 are included under the topic Early Bradford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bradford Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Bradford has undergone many spelling variations, including Bradford, Bradeford, Braidford, Bradforde and others.

Early Notables of the Bradford family

Notables of the family at this time include

John Bradford (1510?-1555), English Protestant martyr, born of gentle parents about 1510 in the parish of Manchester. "A local tradition claims him as a native of the chapelry of Blackley. On his way...
William Bradford (c.1590-c.1657), was an English Separatist leader in Leiden, Holland and in Plymouth Colony. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact; and his son, Major William Bradford (1624-170...
William Bradford (1663-1752), was the first printer in Pennsylvania and the son of William and Anne Bradford of Leicestershire, where the family had held a good position for several generations. He is...
Samuel Bradford (1652-1731), was an English divine, Bishop successively of Carlisle and Rochester, and was the son of William Bradford, a citizen of London, who distinguished himself as a parish offic...

Bradford World Ranking

In the United States, the name Bradford is the 536^th most popular surname with an estimated 54,714 people with that name. 4 However, in Australia, the name Bradford is ranked the 752^nd most popular surname with an estimated 5,186 people with that name. 5 And in the United Kingdom, the name Bradford is the 786^th popular surname with an estimated 8,601 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Bradford family to Ireland

Some of the Bradford family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bradford migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Bradford were among those contributors:

Bradford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Bradford (1590-1657), of Yorkshire who arrived at Plymouth in 1621, aboard the Mayflower and, on the death of John Carver in 1621, was chosen leader of the Pilgrims, 2nd Governor of the Plymouth colony. His wife Dorothy died at sea, en-route to the Colony 7
Dorothy Bradford, (1597-1620), aged 23, who died aboard the Mayflower at Cape Cod Harbor, Massachusetts in 1620 and believed to be buried ashore 7
Mr. Henry Bradford, aged 35, British servant who arrived in Virginia prior to 1624 aboard the ship "Abigaile" 8
John Bradford, who was on record in Massachusetts in 1627
Tho Bradford, aged 40, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Merchant's Hope" 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bradford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mary Bradford, who landed in Virginia in 1701 7
Barby Bradford, who settled in Boston in 1716
John Bradford, who landed in New England in 1718 7
Jacob Bradford, who arrived in Maryland in 1729
Mathew Bradford, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1729 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bradford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Bradford, who landed in America in 1803 7
Joseph Bradford, who landed in America in 1804 7
William I Bradford, who landed in New York in 1806 7
John Bradford, aged 24, who arrived in New York in 1812 7
Henry Bradford, aged 23, who landed in New York in 1812 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bradford migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bradford Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Elis Bradford, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
William Bradford, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Abigail Bradford, who settled in Nova Scotia in 1762
Mr. Benjamin Bradford U.E. who settled in Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1783 member of the Penobscot Association 9
Mr. Benjamin Bradford U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 9

Bradford migration to Australia +

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

Bradford Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Bradford, English convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canada" on 23rd April 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. John Bradford, (b. 1790), aged 37, Irish farmer who was convicted in Antrim, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the “Countess of Harcourt“ on 14th February 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
John Bradford, a baker, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. John Bradford, (Dawson, Brown, Bradshaw), (b. 1790), aged 37, Irish farmer who was convicted in Antrim, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 28th June 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. Joseph Bradford, (b. 1814), aged 16, English painter and glazier who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Florentia" on 11th August 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bradford migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Bradford Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

D Bradford, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842
Janet Bradford, aged 19, a housemaid, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rakaia" in 1878

Bradford migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 14

Bradford Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Bradford, who settled in Barbados in 1650
John Bradford, aged 21, who arrived in Barbados in 1682 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Bradford (post 1700) +

Mary Lythgoe Bradford (1930-2022), American editor and poet, editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought from 1978 to 1983, editor of Mormon Women Speak (1982)
Frank Bradford (1941-2022), American lawyer and politician, born in Sumter, South Carolina
Richard Bradford (1934-2016), American actor, known for The Untouchables (1987), Man in a Suitcase (1967) and The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)
Brigadier-General William Brooks Bradford (1896-1965), American Commanding Officer 1st Cavalry Brigade (1945-1949) 15
Brigadier-General Karl Slaughter Bradford (1889-1972), American Deputy President of War Department Manpower Board (1943-1946) 16
Chadwick Lee "Chad" Bradford (b. 1974), American Major League Baseball player
Melvin E. "Mel" Bradford (1934-1993), American conservative political commentator and professor of literature at the University of Dallas
Arthur Houston Bradford (b. 1969), American short story author and director of "Camp Jabberwocky", the longest running sleepover camp for adults with disabilities in the United States
David Bradford (1929-1995), professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University
Edward Green Bradford II (1848-1928), American federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Bradford family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Cyril E. Bradford, BEM, British Chief Petty Officer, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 17

Vimy Ridge

Frederick William Bradford (1893-1917), Canadian student in agriculture, Lieutenant in the 44th Battalion from Manitoba who died at Vimy Ridge August 1917

The Bradford Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Fier et sage
Motto Translation: Proud and Wise.

Citations +

Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved January 6th 2023 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 19th April 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/florentia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 22) William Bradford. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Bradford/William_Brooks/USA.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 22) Karl Bradford. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Bradford/Karl_Slaughter/USA.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html