George History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Anglo-Saxon name George comes from the given name of the father and was typically denoted as “the son of George.” The personal name George was originally derived from the Greek word which means someone who was a farmer or someone who worked the land. 1

Another source claims a Norman influence as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists Richard and William de St. Georgio in Normandy as well as Robert, William, Ralph de St. Georgio were listed there 1180-1195. 2

Interestingly, one source notes the variant Georges was of some note, particularly in Ireland: “Of the family planted by the Georges of Hastings, branches spread over the counties of Hertford, Dorset, Somerset, and Wilts. In the last named shires it was seated at Longford, and possessed so influential a position, that Sir Edward Georges, of Longford, obtained a baronetcy in 1612, and was afterwards raised to the peerage of Ireland, as Baron Georges, of Dundalk. ” 3

The Charge variant is derived from “Gardge, Gordge, Gorges, or Gaurges, from Gaurges in the Cotentin. Ralph de Gorges married the heiress of Morville, and acquired her estates in Dorset. Raoulde Gorges, married an heiress of Morville, and had the manors of Wraxall and Bradpole, cos. Dorset and Somerset, and was sheriff of Devonshire.” 4 2 “The chateau de Gorges, one of whose lords was at the battle of Hastings, stands in the parish of the same name, in the canton of Periers, department of La Manche, Normandy.” 4

Early Origins of the George family

The surname George was first found in Dorset where it is noted as a somewhat rare name in mediaeval records. The popularity of the name increased during the Crusades which brought more contact with the Orthodox Church. St. George, who slew his famous dragon in 303 A.D., may have inspired the use of this name.

In 1348, Edward III founded the Order of the Garter under the patronage of St. George and by 1415, a yearly festival was set in place that continues today. Today, St. George is considered the patron saint of England.

One of the first records was Hugo filius Georgii who was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1222 in Norfolk. 5

By the time of the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name was scattered throughout ancient England and Wales. Those rolls listed: Robert Gorge in Oxfordshire; William Gorge in Cambridgeshire; and Jeorgius Clericus in Lincolnshire. 6

Guppy notes the “name at present most numerous in Monmouthshire, and after that in South Wales. Bare in the south coast counties, excepting Cornwall, and in the north of England, north of the Wash and the Dee.” 7

Further to the north in Scotland, the name appeared later as “it was a not uncommon surname in Prestwick in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Archibald George appears as burgess and councillor of Irvine, 1597.” 8