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Slaughter History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Slaughter History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Slaughter family

The surname Slaughter was first found in Gloucestershire in either Upper Slaughter or Lower Slaughter. Contrary to the rather obvious trade name as one would expect, this local name dates back to these parishes which in turn, date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where they were collectively known as Sclostre. 1 The place name is thought to have literally meant "muddy place," from the Old English word "slohtre." 2 Another source believes that the place name was "perhaps derived from the name of a river." 3

A rather rare surname in early days, the first on record was Robert de Scloctres who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191. Eynsham, Oxfordshire was home to Robert de Sloutre in 1251 and Mariota de la Sloghtere was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296. Thomas le Slaghterere was listed in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1296 and Henry le Sclaufterer was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1327. 4

Because of the varied villages of the two latter entries, the author believes that these point the origin of the name as occupational in nature from the Middle English word "slahter" meaning "slaughter."

The family is "from one of the two parishes so called co. Gloucester; perhaps derived from the name of a river. There is a place called Slaughterford co. Wiltshire. Slaughter may also sometimes be the same as Slatter, which has been derived from the Danish, slagter, a butcher. Slaughter is the name of a butcher at Notting Hill, Middlesex." 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Ballizus de Sloutre in Gloucestershire at that time. John de Sloghtre was listed in the Close Rolls, 26 Edward III (during the 26th year of King Edward III's reign.) 5

Early History of the Slaughter family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Slaughter research. Another 193 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1360, 1381, 1655, 1673, 1682, 1691, 1729, 1755, 1781, 1791 and 1803 are included under the topic Early Slaughter History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Slaughter Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Slaughter, Sloughter, Slighter, Sclater and others.

Early Notables of the Slaughter family

More information is included under the topic Early Slaughter Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Slaughter Ranking

In the United States, the name Slaughter is the 1,011^st most popular surname with an estimated 29,844 people with that name. 6

Slaughter migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Slaughter Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Slaughter who settled in Virginia in 1622
Rebecca Slaughter, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 7
Bartholmew Slaughter, who landed in Maryland in 1648 7
Bartholomew Slaughter, who arrived in Maryland in 1648 7
Anne Slaughter, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Slaughter Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Caterina Slaughter, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1729 7
Hance Slaughter, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1729 7
John Slaughter, who landed in America in 1764 7
John Slaughter, who settled in West New Jersey in 1772

Slaughter Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

P Slaughter, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 7
Pleasant J Slaughter, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 7

Slaughter migration to Australia +

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

Slaughter Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Matthew Slaughter, aged 41, a cabinetmaker, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Florentia" 8

Slaughter 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:

Slaughter Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Slaughter, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Joseph Fletcher" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th November 1856 9

Slaughter 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. 10

Slaughter Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Slaughter, who settled in Barbados with his wife and daughter Mary in 1679
Thomas Slaughter, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Slaughter (post 1700) +

Frank Gill Slaughter (1908-2001), American best selling novelist and physician who used the names Frank G. Slaughter and the pseudonym C.V. Terry for his works
John Brooks Slaughter (1934-2023), American electrical engineer and college president who served as the first African-American director of the National Science Foundation (NSF)
Milton Eugene "Mickey" Slaughter (1941-2023), American AFL football quarterback and assistant coach at Louisiana Tech
Dorothy Louise McIntosh Slaughter (1929-2018), American politician, Chair of the House Rules Committee (2007-2011), Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1987-2018)
William Banks Slaughter (1797-1879), American politician, eponym of Slaughter County, Iowa
John Horton Slaughter (1841-1922), nicknamed Texas John Slaughter, an American lawman, cowboy, poker player and rancher in the Southwest
Fred Slaughter (b. 1941), American former college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins
George Webb Slaughter (1811-1895), American Baptist minister, cattle breeder and drover
Gabriel Slaughter (1767-1830), American politician, 7th Governor of Kentucky (1816-1820)
Christopher Columbus "C.C." and "Lum" Slaughter (1837-1919), American rancher, cattle drover and breeder, banker and philanthropist in the Old West; he owned 40,000 cattle and over one million acres of ranch land in West Texas, known as the "Cattle King of Texas"
... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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/
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) FLORENTIA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Florentia.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies