Law Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Law Family History

Law Family History

The Law ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Law include Lawe, Lawes and Lawson. Meaning 'at the low', this is a locational name from a person who lived near a hill. This name is of Anglo-Celtic origin and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Examples of such are a William de la Lawe, Northumberland, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273. A Robertus de Lawe was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379. In Scotland there are ten or more places named Law from which the name is derived. It was a common name in Glasgow in the sixteenth century. In 1428 a Robert de Lawe had safe conduct to pass through England on his return from Spain. A Richard Law emigrated from England to America in 1638, and in 1641 he was one of the founders of Stamford.

In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century. During the 'Plantations of Ireland' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Ireland was colonized by the English Crown with this period marking the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland. This period brought an influx of settlers into the country but, unlike the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century that resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.

The Law family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Law descendants.