Hargreaves Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Hargreaves last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Hargreaves last name
Meaning of the Hargreaves last name: from Hargreave, "hare grove". Hargreaves comes from places called Hargreave or Hargrave, usually explained as a "hare grove" or a grove on a boundary. It is above all a Lancashire name, strongest around Burnley, Blackburn and the Ribble valley, and across into West Yorkshire. A curious detail: a Lancashire weaver named James Hargreaves built the spinning jenny, a machine that let one worker spin several threads at once and helped start the cotton boom.
Arms associated with the Hargreaves name
A curious English detail: younger sons added small marks to their father's arms, so brothers named Hargreaves could each carry a slightly different shield.
Get your full Hargreaves family history
This is only a glimpse of the Hargreaves story. The full Hargreaves history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Hargreaves coat of arms. Get the full Hargreaves report.
Hargreaves name FAQ
What does the Hargreaves name mean?
From Hargreave, "hare grove". Common variants include Hargrave, Hargrove, Hargreave.
Where does the Hargreaves surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in Australia, the United States and Canada.
Is there a Hargreaves coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Hargreaves coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.