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Comerford History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Comerford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
England

Etymology of Comerford

What does the name Comerford mean?

The 12th century Anglo-Norman Conquest of Ireland lead by Strongbow introduced the first non-Gaelic elements into Irish nomenclature. The surname Comerford came to Ireland from England at that time. It came originally from the name of a village in Staffordshire, and as such belongs to the category of Anglo-Norman habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Comerford family

The surname Comerford was first found in Kent, England before making its way to Ireland. The name has become almost nonexistent in England. There are Domesday references to the surname in Kent. 1

Later, just over a century later the name moved to Oxfordshire, and Staffordshire, where there is a village of Comerford. In the year 1210, soon after the invasion of Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, in 1172, the Comerfords were granted land in Kilkenny and Wexford, in Ireland. The family is listed as 'New Settlers' who joined Strongbow and got large grants of land in the County of Wexford.

Early History of the Comerford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Comerford research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1542, 1558, 1562, 1575, 1585, 1586, 1599, 1604, 1625, 1652, 1762 and 1832 are included under the topic Early Comerford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Comerford Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name Comerford revealed many spelling variations including Comerford, Comfort, Comport, Comberford, Cummerford, Cumerford, Commerford, Cumfort, Cumport, Comfurt, Compart, Cumberford and many more.

Early Notables of the Comerford family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

Dr. Nicholas Quemerfod, Comberford, Comerford (c.1542-1599) of Waterford, religious scholar and lecturer, who was the first of sixteen Jesuits of the name. Born in Waterford, he took the degree of B.A...
Gerald, Gerard or Garrett Comerford (c.1558-1604), was an Irish barrister, judge and statesman who sat in the Irish House of Commons in the Irish Parliament (1585-1586), and briefly held office as Chi...
Patrick Comerford, was Bishop of Waterford (1625-1652); and John Comerford (c.1762-1832) was a distinguished miniature painter, from Kilkenny

Comerford Ranking

In the United States, the name Comerford is the 13,556^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Comerford migration to the United States +

The Irish emigration during the late 18th and 19th century contributed to the melting pot of nationalities in North America, and the building of a whole new era of industry and commerce in what was seen as a rich, new land. Ireland'sGreat Potato Famine resulted in the worst economic and social conditions in the island's history. And in response to the hunger, disease, and poverty, during this decade the total number of emigrants to leave for North America rivaled all the previous years combined. Those from this decade that arrived on North American shores were not warmly welcomed by the established population, but they were vital to the rapid development of the industry, agriculture, and infrastructure of the infant nations of the United States and what would become Canada. Research into early immigration and passenger lists has shown many people bearing the name Comerford:

Comerford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mary Comerford, who landed in Virginia in 1703 3
James Comerford, who settled in America in 1764

Comerford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Frederic Comerford, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1804
John Comerford, who settled in Philadelphia in 1828
Patrick Comerford, who arrived in St Clair County, Illinois in 1860 3
Thomas Comerford, who settled in Philadelphia in 1866
William Comerford, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1870 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Comerford migration to Australia +

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

Comerford Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Patrick Comerford, a blacksmith, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
Miss Bridget Comerford, (Dougall), (b. 1807), aged 22, Irish nurse girl who was convicted in County Laios (Queens County), Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Edward" on 1st January 1829, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. James Comerford, (b. 1826), aged 17, Irish labourer who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for felony, transported aboard the "Constant" on 9th May 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mary Comerford, aged 21, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Grand Trianon"
Catherine Comerford, aged 21, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Warren Hastings"
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Comerford (post 1700) +

Walter Anthony "Tony" Comerford (1898-1970), American college football and basketball coach
Charles Comerford, American college football player at Yale, member of the 1916 College Football All-America Team
Cristeta Comerford (b. 1962), Filipino-American Executive chef at the White House since 2005
Sharon Comerford, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1980 6
M. C. Comerford, American politician, Member of Minnesota State House of Representatives 27th District, 1873 6
John P. Comerford, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Florida 16th District, 1992, 1994; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 1996 6
John P. Comerford, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1980 6
John Comerford, American politician, Member of New Hampshire State Senate 6th District, 1839-41 6
Hannah F. Comerford, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Massachusetts, 1956 6
George Comerford, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 1996; Presidential Elector for Florida, 1996 6
... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Comerford family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Thomas Comerford, Irish First Waiter from Ireland, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 7

The Comerford 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: So ho ho dea ne
Motto Translation: God will perform it.

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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th November 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/edward
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/constant
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/