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  Craythorne Family Crest / Craythorne Coat of ArmsThe surname of CRAYTHORNE was an English habitation name, probably from Crathorne in North Yorkshire, although the surname is now more of less restricted to the West Midlands. The Yorkshire place is of uncertain etymology, although it is suggested that the name was derived from the Old English CRAKEPORN, literally meaning the dweller by the thorn bushes. Habitation names were originally acquired by the original bearer of the name, who, having lived by, at or near a place, would then take that name as a form of identification for himself and his family. When people lived close to the soil as they did in the Middle Ages, they were acutely conscious of every local variation in landscape and countryside. Every field or plot of land was identified in normal conversation by a descriptive term. If a man lived on or near a hill or mountain, or by a river or stream, forests and trees, he might receive the word as a family name. Almost every town, city or village in early times, has served to name many families. The earliest of the name on record appears to CRATORNE (without surname) who was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. CRAKETHORN (without surname) appears in 1218 in the North Riding of Yorkshire. During the Middle Ages, when people were unable to read or write signs were needed for all visual identification. For several centuries city streets in Britain were filled with signs of all kinds, public houses, tradesmen and even private householders found them necessary. This was an age when there were no numbered houses, and an address was a descriptive phrase that made use of a convenient landmark. At this time, coat of arms came into being, for the practical reason that men went into battle heavily armed and were difficult to recognise. It became the custom for them to adorn their helmets with distinctive crests, and to paint their shields with animals and the like. Coats of arms accompanied the development of surnames, becoming hereditary in the same way.The associated coat of arms is recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Registered at Salaby, County Lincolnshire and Crathorne, County York. (Crathorne). |
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