Gore History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The distinguished surname Gore emerged among the industrious people of Flanders, which was an important trading partner and political ally of Britain during the Middle Ages. As a result of the frequent commercial intercourse between the Flemish and English nations, many Flemish migrants settled in Britain. In early times, people were known by only a single name. However, as the population grew and people traveled further afield, it became increasingly necessary to assume an additional name to differentiate between bearers of the same personal name. The manner in which hereditary surnames arose is interesting. Localsurnames are derived from where the original bearer lived, was born, or held land. Flemishsurnames of this type frequently are prefixed by de la or de le, which mean of the or from the.The Gore family originally lived in Kent. Alternately, the name could have been given to someone who lived by a triangular piece of land and in this case, the surname was originally derived from the Middle English word gara. [1]

Early Origins of the Gore family

The surname Gore was first found in Kent where Ralph de la Gore was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1181. A few years later John de Gore was listed in 1257. Alan atte Gore was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. [2]

William de Gora from Wiltshire and William ad le Gorewege from Cambridgeshire were also listed in the same rolls. [3] Kirby’s Quest of Somerset listed Simon atte Gore and Adam Gorwege. [4]

Early History of the Gore family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gore research.

Gore Spelling Variations

Flemish surnames are characterized by a large number of spelling variations. One reason for this is that medieval English lacked definite spelling rules. The spellings of surnames were also influenced by the official court languages, which were French and Latin. Names were rarely spelled consistently in medieval times. Scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to specific spelling rules, and people often had their names registered in several different forms throughout their lives. One of the greatest reasons for change is the linguistic uniqueness of the Flemish settlers in England, who spoke a language closely related to Dutch. The pronunciation and spelling of Flemish names were often altered to suit the tastes of English-speaking people. In many cases, the first, final, or middle syllables of surnames were eliminated. The name has been spelled Gore, Gorr, Core and others.

Early Notables of the Gore family (pre 1700)

Prominent in the family at this time was Thomas Gore (1632-1684), English writer on heraldry, born at Alderton, Wiltshire, on 20 March 1631-1632 and was the third son of Charles Gore, of Alderton. “By the deaths of his two elder brothers, Charles and Edward.

Gore Ranking

In the United States, the name Gore is the 1,111^st most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. [5]

 Migration of the Gore family to Ireland

Some of the Gore family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.

 Gore migration to the United States +

Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Gore were 

Gore Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• Thomas Gore was one of the earliest recorded settlers in the United States, he settled in Virginia in 1607 aboard the ship “Discovery”
• John Gore, who settled in New England in 1630
• Richard Gore, who settled in New England in 1630
• Mr. Stephen Gore, who left England and arrived in Maryland in 1634 aboard the ship “Ark and Dove” [6]
• Miss Ursula Goodenowe, who arrived aboard the ship “Confidence” in 1638 in New Englandand Boston stated. [7]

Gore Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• Henry Gore, who landed in Virginia in 1714 [6]
• Casper Gore, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1755 [6]
• Grace Gore, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1766 [6]

Gore Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Arthur Gore, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1816 [6]
• Luke Gore, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 [6]
• James Gore, who arrived in New York in 1819 [6]
• Jost Heinr Gore, who arrived in America in 1854 [6]

 Gore migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were: 

Gore Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

• Thomas Gore, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749