Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
 ASH Family Crest / ASH Coat of ArmsThis surname ASH was a locational name 'the dweller atten-ash' from residence beside an ash tree. Local names usually denoted where a man held land, and indicated where he actually lived. Local surnames, by far the largest group, derived from a place name where the man held land or from the place from which he had come, or where he actually lived. These local surnames were originally preceded by a preposition such as "de", "atte", "by" or "in". The names may derive from a manor held, from working in a religious dwelling or from literally living by a wood or marsh or by a stream. Following the Crusades in Europe a need was felt for a family name. This was recognized by those of noble blood, who realised the prestige and practical advantage it would add to their status. The name has numerous variant spellings which include NASHE, ASHE, ASCHE, AISH, AYSH, ESH, ESCHER, ASKLUND and VERESS, to name but a few. The name was brought to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066. Early records of the name mention Agnes ate Nasse, 1273 County Oxford. William atte Nashe of Yorkshire was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. William atte Nasche, was documented in the year 1300 in the County of Yorkshire. Fardinando Simones married Alece Nashe, St. Mary, Aldermary, London in 1524. This surname is now common in Ireland where it was taken by a family who established themselves in County Kerry in the 13th century, during the second wave of the Anglo-Norman settlement. In the middle ages it was customary for a man to be named after the village where he lived or where he held his land. This name would identify his whole family, and followed them wherever they moved. Following the Crusades in Europe in the 11th 12th and 13th centuries a need was felt for a family name. This was recognized by those of nobler blood who realised the prestige and practical advantage it would add to their status. Abner Nash (or Naish) (1740-86) was the governor of North Carolina, and was originally of Welsh origin, his parents having emigrated to Virginia from Wales in 1730. His brother Frances (1742-77) was a general in the Continental Army; the town of Nashville, Tennesse was named in his honour. |
