Castleford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Castleford

What does the name Castleford mean?

The origins of the Castleford name come from when the Anglo-Saxon tribes ruled over Britain. The name Castleford was originally derived from a family having lived in Yorkshire, where the surname is derived from the place-name Castleford in the West Riding. The place-name is derived from the Old English terms ceaster and forda, meaning fort and ford, respectively. 1

Early Origins of the Castleford family

The surname Castleford was first found in Yorkshire at Castleford, a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross. "This place is by some writers supposed to have been the site of the Roman station Legiolium, or Lagetium, described in Antonine's Itinerary as being situated on the river Aire, where it was crossed by a ford, on the line of the Herman-street between Doncaster and York: Roman antiquities have been frequently discovered, including a scarce denarius of Caracalla, with a lion on the reverse. It is related, that the citizens of York, being pursued by Ethelred's army, in 750, turned at this place, and committed great slaughter on their pursuers. After the Norman Conquest, the parish was given to Ilbert de Laci, the heiress of whose family conveyed it by marriage, with the whole honour of Pontefract, to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster." 2

Early Yorkshire rolls include an entry for Nicholas de Castelford in 1292 and later in Cheshire, John de Catylford was listed there in 1340. Thomas Castelford was found in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1375. 3

Early History of the Castleford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Castleford research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1585 is included under the topic Early Castleford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Castleford Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Castleford include Castelford, Casselford, Castleford, Astleford and others.

Early Notables of the Castleford family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Roger Castleford of Wypershall

Castleford migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Castleford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Castleford, who arrived in Virginia in 1651 4
Robert Castleford, who landed in Maryland in 1669 4

Sources +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)