Folger History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Folger

What does the name Folger mean?

Folger is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Germanic personal name Fulcher. It is composed of the elements folk, which means people, and hari, which means army.

Early Origins of the Folger family

The surname Folger was first found in Lincolnshire and Derbyshire where they were granted lands about the time of William the Conqueror. Historically, the Fulchers were known as the Champions of Burgundy and records were found of the name spelt Fulchere in Normandy (1180-1195). 1 The name could have also been derived from the Ango-Saxon word "folgere", in other words a follower, an attendant, a free-man who did not have a house of his own. 2

Early History of the Folger family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Folger research. Another 168 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1170, 1272, 1273, 1284, 1307, 1379, 1617, 1690, 1737, 1795, 1803, 1830, 1855 and 1893 are included under the topic Early Folger History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Folger Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Folger include Fulcher, Fulger, Fulker, Fucher, Fullager, Folker, Foucar, Foulger, Futcher, Folger, Fugler, Fuche, Fuge, Fuidge, Fudge, Foutch and many more.

Early Notables of the Folger family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Peter Folger (Foulger) (1617-1690), Baptist missionary, teacher, and surveyor, but best known as the maternal Grandfather of Benjamin Franklin

Folger Ranking

In the United States, the name Folger is the 10,917^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Folger family to Ireland

Some of the Folger family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Folger migration to the United States +

In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Folgers to arrive on North American shores:

Folger Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Folger, who settled in Massachusetts in 1630
John Folger, who landed in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635 4
Peter Folger, who arrived in New England in 1635 4

Folger Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

B Folger, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1804 4
Fred Folger, who settled in New Orleans in 1820
Catherine Folger, who settled in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1820
Robert Folger, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
Joseph Folger, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Folger (post 1700) +

Worth B. Folger, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1956 5
Mrs. Worth Folger, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1964 5
Robert B. Folger, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County 11th District, 1849 5
Walter Folger Jr. (1765-1849), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Massachusetts State Senate, 1809-15, 1822; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 9th District, 1817-21 5
Paul Folger, American Republican politician, Delegate to New York State Constitutional Convention 45th District, 1938 5
Obed Folger, American politician, U.S. Consul in Paita, 1833-34 5
John Hamlin Folger (1880-1963), American Democratic Party politician, Member of North Carolina State House of Representatives, 1927-28; Member of North Carolina State Senate, 1931-32 5
John Clifford Folger (1896-1981), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, 1957-59 5
Howard Sidney Folger (b. 1867), American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Kingston, 1915-20 5
Fred Folger (b. 1900), American Democratic Party politician, Member of North Carolina State Senate 23rd District, 1935-36, 1939-40, 1959 5
... (Another 15 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html