What Are The Origins Of The Surname Falliford?

The surname Falliford is extremely unusual. It is most probably a variant of the surname Fallowfield, which means fields which were left uncultivated. Two villages were given this name, one in Northumberland and one in Lancashire. A resident of either of these places could have been given the surname when they moved elsewhere in the country, making this a topographical surname.

It may be that the places got their name because the fields were left uncultivated there for an exceptionally long time. This could have occurred in the time of the Black Death in the 14th century, when many settlements were left completely unpopulated. Alternatively, the place name may date from even earlier, when Viking pillaging caused the villages to be abandoned.

The earliest mention of the surname in records is in 1455 when a William Faleufield is named in the Essex Feet of Fines. The coat of arms was awarded to the Fallowfields of Cumberland in the 1600s.