Re: Origin of the surname, Floyd

James Floyd, a member of The Guild of One Name Studies sent me the following info.

FLOOD - FLOYD CLAN ARKive
(including FLUDD/FLUDE/FLOID etc)

Affiliated to the Guild of One-Name Studies (Member 2619)


BACKGROUND
I began researching my own family line about 20 years ago and soon got back
8 generations to the Forres/Elgin area of Scotland, only to discover that my
FLOYD name had originally been spelled FLOOD. I then turned around and
followed the FLOOD name forward in time to living relatives who have
retained the original spelling.A similar spelling change has since been
discovered in several families, usually, it has to be said, in those
branches which moved away from their traditional family area.No doubt the
local registrar simply wrote down the spelling of the name which he thought
he had heard from the informant(s).Since the latter were, in many cases,
unable to read or write, they could not correct any spelling mistakes which
were then perpetuated.
While researching my own tree, I also found it interesting to follow
the other FLOOD/FLOYD families in Scotland, initially in the hope of proving
a connection with my own.Alas, it soon became apparent that this was
unlikely since most of the other families were of relatively recent Irish
origin whereas my own family was Scottish as far back as I could trace.
However, researching the other family trees had a fascination in itself and
the worldwide ARKive grew out of this.Note that the spelling is not an
error but simply a pun on the Biblical 'FLOOD' and Noah's redoubtable
vessel.
There is no doubt that many FLOOD and FLOYD families have arisen
independently in different parts of the British Isles (and Europe) and that
for most families, those records which have survived are totally inadequate
to do more than document the last 8-10 generations, if that.In many
instances, 5 or 6 generations would be considered good progress.However it
is a wonderful feeling, on occasion, to be able to positively establish
connections between long-lost branches of a family.For me, that is what
makes it all worthwhile.

SCOTLAND
Being based in Scotland, most of my research to date has been in New
Register House in Edinburgh, not least because one can see microfiche copies
of the actual Birth/Marriage/ Death registers (for a daily fee) without
having to purchase a certified copy (as in England) or a photocopy (as in
Ireland).This means that is possible to examine, and extract all the
details from, about 80-100 certificates on a good day, depending on their
size (marriages have about twice as much detail as a birth or death).

All FLOOD and FLOYD entries in the Scottish GRO Indexes (1855-1997) have
been extracted and entered into the database. To date, 788 out of 2326
FLOOD/FLOYD birth certificates have been transcribed (including all
1855-1867 and 1917-1927), 1362 out of 1375 marriage certificates (including
all 1855-1995), and 1344 out of 1935 death certificates (including all
1855-1900 , 1950-64 and 1968-83). It was decided to concentrate on the
marriages and deaths in the first instance since these are the most useful
for the ongoing family tree research. Also, many of the deaths were of young
children, whose corresponding birth entries could often be identified from
their death certificates without having to check their birth certificates.
The index to the Scottish Old Parish Registers (pre-1855) has been searched
and all FLOOD/FLOYD entries extracted. All the above data have been compiled
into about 150 distinct family lines in Scotland.

ENGLAND
In England, the situation is more difficult, both from the greater numbers
involved and the impossible cost of buying copies of thousands of
certificates.The study therefore has to rely on others donating trees or
copies of certificates that they may have gathered over the years. Although
official registration began in England in 1837, the details on the
certificates are not as extensive/useful as those in Scotland. All the FLOOD
- FLOYD entries in the indexed 1881 Census for England and Wales have been
extracted and provide an excellent 'snapshot' of the numbers and
distribution of the family group, at that instant in time. There were 3167
'FLOODs' and 3106 'FLOYDs' in the 1881 Census for Great Britain (England,
Scotland and Wales, but not Ireland). However, this merely emphasises the
size of the One-name study which has to be a collective task involving the
co-operation of many people over a period of time in order to become a
really useful tool for researchers.The 1851 Census index on CD-ROM for the
three counties of Norfolk, Warwick and Devon has been copied as well as
various fragments of other counties. The latest IGI has also been extracted
for FLOOD and FLOYD.

IRELAND
This is probably the most difficult country of all for research, with
Registration beginning only in 1864 and photocopies of each certificate
having to be purchased individually.Most of the early Census returns for
Ireland were destroyed, either officially or during the Four Courts fire in
1922.The 1901 and 1911 Censuses have been released on microfilm but, apart
from Tyrone and Fermanagh for 1901, have not yet been systematically
indexed. There are likely to be hundreds of families (mostly FLOOD) in
Ireland.

UNITED STATES and CANADA
Most of the FLOOD and FLOYD families in North America originate in the
British Isles. On the database front, some progress has been made with
copies of the current phone listings, but no systematic compilation of vital
or census records has yet been possible.The keeping of most vital records
in the US at a local or state level means that there is a plethora of
repositories to search rather than one central location. The US Social
Security Death Index is of course very useful, as far as it goes, as are the
latest flush of CD Roms with Census indexes etc.

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND and SOUTH AFRICA
Very little information on FLOOD/FLOYD families in the Southern Hemisphere
has been compiled and there is still much to do in this area.The indexes
to the Births, Marriages and Deaths in NSW have been extracted for
FLOOD/FLOYD.These include 1291 births (period 1796-1918), 1157 marriages
(1790-1945) and 869 deaths (1802-1945).

The IFI
Since I regularly receive letters and e-mails with snippets of FLOOD - FLOYD
family history, I have started a basic index database (jokingly called the
INTERNATIONAL FLOODOLOGICAL INDEX) for those individuals where I have enough
information to identify them uniquely either by event date or relationship.
The IFI has columns for birth/marriage/death (dates and locations),parents
and spouse(s) and is intended to be the first place to look when a query is
received about the family group. To keep it simple, there is no linkage
forwards to children though the latter are obviously linked backwards
through their parents. However, it is possible to find the entire family by
appropriate sorting. Data are currently being entered as and when they are
received and a start has been made on entering the backlog of other sources.
FLOOD - FLOYD families are allocated a unique sequential number once
sufficient detail is available to justify it.When two or more families are
later found to merge, they all take over the same number and the additional
numbers are no longer used.

The FUTURE
I am making a general appeal to all FLOOD - FLOYD family historians to send
me details of their research on the Clan, even if only two generations.
Note that this should be ONLY for the FLOOD - FLOYD lines, apart from enough
detail for contributors to show (if they wish) their connection to the
family.Photocopies or full transcripts of vital records
(births/christenings/marriages/deaths/burials) are especially valuable for
the study, as are census and directory listings. I am always interested in
corresponding with others who are researching the FLOOD - FLOYD 'Clan' to
exchange information and hopefully help to link up families worldwide.

The FLOOD -FLOYD FAMILY ARKive
The FLOOD - FLOYD FAMILY ARKive is a quarterly non-profit newsletter started
in February 1997 and devoted to family history research on FLOOD - FLOYD
families.It contains newspaper cuttings, anecdotes, trees,obituaries,
indexes, data, queries etc on the family group.

Dr James D Floyd
84 Pentland Terrace, EDINBURGH, EH10 6HF, Scotland, UK
E-mail: j.floyd@bgs.ac.ukTel: +44 (0)131 445 3906