Powers / Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Powers / Family History

Powers / Family History

The ancient origin of the name Powers was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

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 Powers includes Poor, Poore and Power. This is a nickname meaning 'The Poor' and is of Anglo-Norman descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in the above countries. Examples of such are a John le Poer, County Yorkshire, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273 and a Susanna Pore was baptised in Saint James, Clerkenwell, in the year 1667. A John Powre, was a witness at Tullyhow, Kynfawnis, Scotland, in the year 1539. The Powers of Ireland came with the Normans, in Strongbows 12th century invasion. They owned vast estates in Wicklow and Waterford, where as Marquesses of Waterford , they still maintain Curraghmore House. William Grattan Tyrone Power, of Waterford, was a leading Irish actor on the English stage. Tyrone Power, the film star, was his great grandson.The Powers 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 Powers descendants.