Origin of the Name Hand
The
Hand family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
Variants of the name Hand
include Hande, Hands, Handes, Hanman and Handman. This name can be of nickname origin describing a person who had large hands or who constantly used their hands in their occupation. In modern times a sailor is still often referred to as a 'hand' while stage workers are often referred to as 'stage-hands'. It can also be an Anglo version of the name Hans taken from the name Johannes, itself a form of the name John. An early record of the name refers to a Richard Hand who sailed aboard the ship 'Hopewell' from the Port of London bound for Barbados in the year 1634. A Walter Handes was recorded in the 'Pipe Rolls' of Warwickshire as early as the year 1332.
Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. It was by creating, maintaining and updating these reference books that they were able to maintain their authority and enforce laws.
In Ireland the name Hand is sometimes a variant of the Irish names Claffey, Glavy and Lavan.
The Hand coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Hand descendants.