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  Harmsworth Coat of Arms / Harmsworth Family CrestThe surname of HARMSWORTH was a locational name 'of Harmondsworth', a parish in the County of Middlesex. 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. Early records of the the name mention Heremodesworde (without surname) who was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. Edward Harmsworth of County Somerset, was documented during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377), and William Hersmworth of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but the main of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. A notable member of the name was Harold Sydney Harmsworth, Ist Viscount Rothermere (1868-1940) the Irish newspaper magnate, born in London. He was closely associated with his brother Alfred (Lord Northcliffe) and founded the Glasgow Daily Record. In 1910, he established the King Edward chair of English literature at Cambridge and recieved a baronetcy. |
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