Last name: Pollard

This interesting name has two possible origins. Firstly, it may have been a nickname for a person with a close-cropped head, from the Middle English word "poll" meaning "the head" plus the intensive suffix "-ard". The term pollard, denoting an animal that has had its horns lopped, is not recorded until the 16th Century. Hence, a more likely source for the name is the medieval personal name "Polhard", a derivative of "Paul", which seems to have been pronounced "Poll" by the end of the 12th Century, plus the element "-hard", strong, brave. It is interesting to note that one Pollardus Forestarius appears in the 1207 Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, and in 1275, one Stephanus filius (son of) Pollard is recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Kent. The surname first appears in the late 12th Century (see below). Interesting namebearers, recorded in the "Dictionary of National Biography", include: Sir John Pollard (died 1557), speaker of the House of Commons from 1553 - 1555, and Sir Hugh Pollard (died 1666), a royalist employed in Devon and Cornwall in the civil war, later becoming governor of Guernsey and comptroller of Charles 11's household. Eleven Coats of Arms were granted to Pollard families living in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, and York, as well as County Westmeath (Ireland). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Pollard, which was dated 1181, in the "Pipe Rolls of Surrey", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Visitor Comments

DAWNIE
Hi I am interested in the surname, I am looking for anyone with any information on POllard surname from North Yorkshire, Guisborough and West Yorkshire Thanks Dawn

josh pollard
wow i knew that my last name had a real meanning behind it if any one has info on pollards in michigan, kentuky, or missurri (spelled wrong)

sara pollard
Hey I am a pollard from missouri. There seems to quite a few here. What are u looking for?

Dennis
I'm looking for pollards from those areas to..A Raymond Pollard although he has passed. His sister lived in Michigan sons in Ark. Any info would help.

rameil pollard
im doing a project...... im a pollard from mcnairy are we kin???

Rebecca Pollard
My family is from Michigan. My great grandfather came over from Ireland I believe.

John Pollard
Hi, Try the National Archives, Trafalgar Ancestors database. John Pollard attributed with shooting the French marksman who shot Admiral Lord Nelson. A grandson Horatio John Pollard from Sligo, Ireland..Born 19-05-1841 & died 21 Feb 1866....Cheers,

Graeme Pollard
Graeme Pollard ..here :P

JARE POLLARD
I am Jared Pollard from Trinidad and Tobago.....jared.pollard@hotmail.com.....shout me anyone who has Trini or English roots

May
AYYY my last name is Pollard and my dad is trinidadian

M.Pollard
my dad is from Michigan....i've noticed that there are a lot of Pollards from there

Ken Pollard
My name is Ken Pollard. I am 45 and I'm from Detroit, Michigan. I lived there all my life until last year. I married a woman named Brenda Jenkins from California and we live out here now. My dad originally came from Seattle, Washington. There are a lot of Pollards from Michigan. I am told (by my dad) that we are irish and he has records of our family dating back to the pilgrims. Our family went west (by covered wagon) from Misouri to Washington eons ago. I really don't have exact dates, but he has a book of Pollard family history. There is better that a good chance that I am related to more than a few of you. (The newest Pollard is Erin, my daughter. She was born August 23rd 2010.)

Michelle
Hi, Ken. Is the book called "Courage Enough?" I might be related to you. Is your great granddad named James, or have you heard of Erwin (or Irwin?)

kendra pollard
Hey! What is your father's name? My name is Kendra Pollard, and my father is from Seattle email me thepollardgrlzx9@yahoo.com

maleah snow
My grandmother is a Pollard, were from Oklahoma but my great great grandparents came from Virginia.

deborah pollard
hi my name is deborah pollard..my fathers name was michael robert pollard we are from australia.. iam really interested in finding out more about our family tree.. my dad michael passeda way whe i was 14.. does anyone have any other leads fron any other polard from australia..

Sam Pollard
Pollards are originally from the West of England, not Ireland.

Ashley Pollard
Ashley Pollard from Virginia - I am from the Pollards of West Virginia, I have been told that my branch of Pollards is from Ireland with immigration to Virginia. Any other West Virginia/Virginia Pollards out there?

Phyllis Weldon
Hi Ashley, I am researching Pollard's from Jamestown, Va, King & Queen, Va. Robert Pollard b.1656 d. 1678, may have been m. to Mary Elizabeth Hughes. Robert Pollard b. 1679 d. 1709, maybe m. to Elizabeth Baylor, and a Robert Pollard b. 1699 d.1759. Are any of these familiar to you or on your tree? Phyllis.

Vicky Marriott
My great grandfather was a Pollard and he lived in Devon and died in the 1920s. He married Cora Kinsman and their children were called Cora, Ada, Lilian, Dorothy, Jack, Victor, Violet, Norman and Mabel. Dorothy is my gandmother and she died in the 1980s. The Pollard family had sweet factories in SW England and made Ice Cream until the 1970s. Does anyone know what happened to the factories or the business after that?

Patricia Pollard
Hi, I am Patricia Pollard. My Father was Wilson Pollard and his father was Carey Oscar Pollard of Ohio (Central and south) around Idaho, Ohio. Does anyone think they might be related to me? I have heard that this branch of the pollards came over on a ship that did not make it to shore and they floated in on their broken down (for shipping) oak table and chairs. I gave those to my cousin to keep them in the family.

Gail Pollard
I'm looking for my great grandfather, Oliver (Ollie) Pollard. I was told that he was born in Virginia and was in the Voluntary Army. He married a woman named America Clark from Garrard county, Kentucky and they had a son named Henry Clay Pollard, born 1898. Oliver then went to Mexico, California and then overseas and supposedly died in the war in France. America followed him, leaving Henry behind. The last known correspondence from her was that Oliver was dead and that she was bringing his body home on the Titanic. No one has heard from her since. Henry was placed into and orphanage at age 10. Later he married Nellie May Meredith from Munfordville, Ky. If anyone has any information on Oliver Pollard, could you please let me know. I keep running into dead ends.

Gareth Headland
my mum died last week aged 89, she was a Pollard from Carlisle, Cumbria, England, the name is linked to the clan MacKay in Scotland they say but we always thought Pollard was 100% English, for sure if anyone called Pollard came to USA from Ireland they were probably either English Pollards that went via Ireland OR linked to the MacKay idea.............................................................. my name is not Pollard though of course. mum met Dad when he was stationed in Carlisle in the army and moved down south they married and she became a "Headland"