Royds History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Royds

What does the name Royds mean?

The name Royds was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Royds family lived in Lincolnshire at Rhoades, but more often than not, the name originates in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 1 The name literally means "dweller by the clearing(s)" from the Old English word "rod(u)." 2 As to confirm this meaning of the name, another source notes "a topographic name for someone who lived by a clearing in the woodland." 3 4 Accordingly, one must dispel the rather obvious assumption that the name was derived from Rhodes, in the Mediterranean Sea. 5

The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford that was established in 1902, by English businessman and politician Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902.)

Early Origins of the Royds family

The surname Royds was first found in Yorkshire. "Roads is a numerous Bucks [(Buckinghamshire)] name. There are hamlets and villages called Rhodes in Lancashire and the West Riding. A family named Rodes or De Rodes flourished for 500 or 600 years in Lincolnshire, Notts [(Nottinghamshire)], Yorkshire, and Derbyshire: they were descended from Gerard de Rodes, a distinguished Baron of the 12th century. " 1

While we can find places named Rhodes in the United States, Australia and South Africa, we cannot find any in England today, nor can we find Rhoades in Lincolnshire. However, a second source notes the Yorkshire reference as follows: "This was a common Yorkshire entry, and explains the large number of Rhodes in the West Riding Directory." 6

As if to help us through this confusion, one source confirms that the first listing of the name was indeed found in Yorkshire as in Hugh de Rodes who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219. A few years later, Alexander de la rode was listed in 1277 in Norfolk. John atte Rode was listed in Bedfordshire in 1294 and Robert del Rodes was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332. 2

Early History of the Royds family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Royds research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1550, 1591, 1663, 1664, 1668 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Royds History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Royds Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Rhodes, Rhoades, Rhode, Rhoads, Roades, Roads and others.

Early Notables of the Royds family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Hugh Rhodes (fl. 1550), an English author of the 'Book of Nurture,' 'born and bred in' Devonshire, a gentleman of the king's chapel. 7John Rhoades, was an early American fur trader from New England, who was part of Jurriaen...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Royds Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Royds 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:

Royds Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. E. C. A. Royds, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Joseph Fletcher" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 30th September 1853 8
Mr. J. S. Royds, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Jessie Readman" arriving in Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand on 23rd March 1871 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Royds (post 1700) +

Mabel Allington Royds (1874-1941), English artist from Bedfordshire, best known for her woodcuts
Thomas Royds (1884-1955), English Solar physicist who worked on the identification of alpha radiation as the nucleus of the helium atom
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles William Rawson Royds KBE CMG ADC FRGS (1876-1931), Royal Navy officer and Assistant Commissioner "A" of the London Metropolitan Police (1926-1931)
Sir Edmund Royds OBE DL (1860-1946), English solicitor and Conservative Party politician
Admiral Sir Percy Molyneux Rawson Royds CB CMG ADC (1874-1955), British admiral and politician, Admiral-Superintendent of Chatham Dockyard (1923–1925), Member of Parliament for Kingston-upon-Thames (1937–1945)
John Royds Culshaw OBE (1924-1980), English classical record producer for Decca Records, best known for masterminding the first studio recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen in 1958
Julian Royds Gribble VC (1897-1918), English recipient of the Victoria Cross
Lieutenant General Sir Henry Royds Pownall KCB, KBE, DSO (1887-1961), Chief of Staff to the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France and Belgium in WWII

The Royds 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: Robor meum Deus
Motto Translation: Strength through God.

Citations +

Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Hanks Patricia, Flavia Hodges, Mills A.D., Room Adrian, The Oxford Names Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print. (ISBN 0-19-860561-7)
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html