Freeman Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Freeman Family History

Freeman Family History

The Freeman ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Freeman is an occupational name for someone who was not a serf, and was a person with particular liberty. Variants of the name include Freeborn, Freeborne, Freeburn, Free, Freebody, Freeland, Fleeman, Freemont and Fremunt. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts. Examples of such are a John le Freman and a Robertus Freland who were recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, in the year 1379. An Agnes Frebern of Cambridge and a Walter le Free of Wiltshire were recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls' in the year 1273. In Scotland a Walter Freman del counte de Pebbles rendered homage in the year 1296.

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.

Freeman also serves as an anglicized form of the native Gaelic Mac An tSaoir sept who more usually changed their name to MacAteer.The Freeman 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 Freeman descendants.