Last name: Hargreaves

This surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from any of the various places in Cheshire, Northamptonshire and Suffolk called "Hargrave" or "Hargreave" recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Haregrave" and "Haragraua" respectively. The meaning can be derived from either the Olde English pre 7th century "har", meaning grey or "hara", meaning "hare", plus the element "graf", grove, or "groefe" meaning a thicket. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. Early examples of the surname include: William de Hargreve (Lancashire, 1296), and Henry Hargrevys (Yorkshire, 1486). In the modern idiom the name is spelt Hargreave(s), Hargrave(s), Hargreves and Hargroves. Probably the most notable bearer of the name is James Hargreaves (died 1778), inventor of the "spinning-jenny" circa 1764. A Coat of Arms granted to the Hargreaves family of Broad Oak, Lancashire, is a shield divided quarterly gold and green, on a fesse ermine between three stags courant counterchanged, a red fret. A green buck's head erased, attired gold, with a silver collar charged with a red fret, in the mouth a sprig of oak, forms the Crest. The Motto "Fortitudine et prudentia" translates as "By fortitude and prudence". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey de Hargrave, which was dated 1188, in the "Pipe Rolls of Devonshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as the "Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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I am a Hargreaves also and i live in lancashire maybe some of ya'll are related'

well im a Hargreaves, and have some ancestors from Lancashire, im trying to find out if we are the family with the coats of arms i doubt it but it would be nice if we are :)

Andrew J Lehr
Hello Sabrina, I have some Hargreaves in my family line. Would you be related to a Doris Maureen (Hargreaves) Wilmore. Doris was my maternal grandmother, if she where alive she would Be in her late 80s to early 90s. Hope to here from you. Thanks Andrew

Karen Hargreaves
The name Hargreaves is woven into the fabric of Lancashire culture :)
James Hargreaves, creator of the Spinning Jenny loom, lived in a cottage in Oswaldtwistle, before he was persecuted and had to leave. I lived in that village too for a while, before moving to North Carolina.
The two places are inextricably connected due to the US Civil War. As the exportation of cotton ceased during that time, so did the work for spinners in the cotton mills of Lancashire and a famine ensued. Abraham Lincoln sent a letter to the people of Lancashire ( Manchester) acknowledging their plight.
I would love to hear from anyone with a further interest in the history of the name