Sparrow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Sparrow family

The surname Sparrow was first found in Norfolk where it is generally believed that the family trace their ancestry to William Sparrow, of West Harling, temp. Edward II. 1 However, some sources claim the name was a nickname as in "one thought to possess some quality of a sparrow, such as a homey, chirpy disposition; dweller at the sign of the sparrow." 2 3 However, we find it difficult to trivialize the surname in this manner.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list more of the listings of the surname with some of the earlier spellings: John Sparuwe in Oxfordshire; Laurence Sparwe in Cambridgeshire; and Hugh Sparewe in Cambridgeshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Rogerus Sparowe; and Adam Sparowe. 4

Early History of the Sparrow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sparrow research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1612, 1615, 1633, 1648, 1660, 1665, 1667, 1668, 1676 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Sparrow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sparrow Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Sparrow, Sparrowe, Sparow and others.

Early Notables of the Sparrow family

Notables of the family at this time include

Anthony Sparrow (1612-1685), English Anglican priest, Bishop of Norwich (1676-1685) and Bishop of Exeter (1667-1676.) Born at Depden, near Bury St. Edmunds, he was the son of Samuel Sparrow, a man of...
John Sparrow (1615-1665?), was an English mystic, born on 12 May 1615, probably at Stambourne, Essex. In 1633 he was admitted of the Inner Temple, being then of Stambourne, and was subsequently called...

Sparrow Ranking

In the United States, the name Sparrow is the 3,678^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Sparrow family to Ireland

Some of the Sparrow family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sparrow migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sparrow Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Sparrow, who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1632 6
Tho Sparrow, who landed in Virginia in 1635 6
Thomas Sparrow who settled in Virginia in 1636
John Sparrow, who settled in Virginia in 1653
Alice Sparrow, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sparrow Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Eliza Sparrow, who landed in Virginia in 1711 6
George Sparrow, who landed in Virginia in 1713 6
John Sparrow, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1730 6
William Sparrow, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1774

Sparrow Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Sparrow Junior and Senior settled in Boston in 1823
Ann Sparrow, aged 46, who landed in Kennebunk, Me in 1830 6
James Sparrow, aged 37, who arrived in Kennebunk, Me in 1830 6
Mr. Sparrow, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 6

Sparrow migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sparrow Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Coe Sparrow, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Sparrow Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Martin Sparrow, who settled in Fortune Bay, Newfoundland in 1871 7
Robert and Thomas Sparrow, who settled in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland in 1871 7

Sparrow migration to Australia +

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

Sparrow Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Edward Sparrow, British Convict who was convicted in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Miss Eliza Sparrow, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Buffalo" on 4th May 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. George Sparrow, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Cressy" on 28th April 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
James Sparrow, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Santipore" in 1848 11
Robert Sparrow, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Elizabeth" in 1849 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sparrow 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:

Sparrow Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George James Sparrow, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "John Masterman" in 1857
Mr. Arthur Sparrow, (b. 1846), aged 13, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th January 1860 13
Mr. Sparrow, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th March 1863 13
Mr. Charles Sparrow, (b. 1842), aged 32, English settler from Berkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Sussex" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 17th July 1874 13
Mrs. Eliza S. Sparrow, (b. 1845), aged 29, English settler from Berkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Sussex" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 17th July 1874 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sparrow 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. 14

Sparrow Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Judith Sparrow, who settled in Barbados with her children and servants in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Sparrow (post 1700) +

Edward Sparrow (1810-1882), American politician, Confederate States Senator from Louisiana (1862-1865)
Rory Darnell Sparrow (b. 1958), retired American professional basketball player
Brian Sparrow (1962-2019), English professional footballer who played as a full back
Adolphus Sparrow (1869-1936), English cricketer
Matthew Ronald "Matt" Sparrow (b. 1981), English footballer
John Hanbury Angus Sparrow (1906-1992), English academic, barrister, book-collector and Warden of All Souls College, Oxford from 1952-77
George Sparrow (1869-1929), Australian rules footballer
Frank Sparrow (1926-2000), Australian rules footballer
Charles Sparrow (1808-1852), Canadian politician, 5th Mayor of Bytown (Ottawa) in 1851
Barbara Jane "Bobbie" Sparrow PC (1935-1984), former Canadian politician, Member of Parliament Calgary South (1984-1988)
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Sparrow family +

Halifax Explosion

Mr. Andrew Sparrow, Canadian stationed on the Tug Douglas H Thomas Dominion Coal from who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 15

HMS Royal Oak

Leslie Percival Sparrow (d. 1939), British Electrical Artificer 4th Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 16

The Sparrow 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: In solo Deo salus
Motto Translation: Salvation is in God alone.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. 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)
"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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/buffalo
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st May 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cressy
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SANTIPORE 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Santipore.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ELIZABETH 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Elizabeth.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html