About the Study

I began researching the Luxford surname in 1984  focussing on the counties of Sussex, Kent and Surrey.

I am descended from the Luxfords' in the area surrounding the Parish of Cuckfield in the County of Sussex, England. This includes the Anglican parishes and/or Chapelry’s of Horsted Keynes, Fletching, Lindfield, Wivelsfield and Dane Hill.

My direct family line came to Australia in 1830, when William Luxford (1809-1894) was transported to Australia for stealing a watch, the property of Henry Brigden.

In 2014, I commenced a project to transcribe all Luxford entries of baptism, burial, and marriage in the Anglican Parish Registers of Sussex, followed by Kent and Surrey. Sussex was completed in 2017 with Kent, Surrey and Hampshire completed in 2019. I am now focussing on Middlesex and London. 

I also have a comprehensive data-set on all Australian and New Zealand Luxfords.

In the future, I am looking at broadening the study in the United Stated of America and other English Counties.

In March 2019, I registered “Luxford” and its principal variants as a One-Name Study as a step to further increase understanding of the early branches of the surname, and of how those bearing the surname today may be related, even if reliable paper trails have not survived.

I have attempted to determine family trees based on the transcription of the Old Parish Registers, census returns, burial records, court records and other archive material relating to the surname of Luxford.

I have undertaken a DNA test with Ancestry and continue to learn more about this tool and its application to my one-name study.

I look forward to hearing from anyone with Luxford family connections.

If sending a research enquiry, please provide as much detail as possible - parents and grandparents - along with an area where your Luxford family settled. Remember, the records I am collecting relate primarily to Luxfords before 1837. 

Variant Names

The most common variant spellings are: Lucksford, Locksford, Luxferd. Early forms included Luggesford ( 1279), Lockesford (1327), Loggesford (1387) and Luckesford (1587).

However, the Luxford surname appears to have remained, for the most part, fairly consistent over time.

Name Origin

The surname ”Luxford”, is peculiar to the County of Sussex, with relatively large numbers of early recordings found near the ancient forest of “Andredesweald” (renamed the Ashdown Forest, in 1672).

This interesting surname is of early medieval English origin, and is of locational derivation from some minor, unrecorded or now "lost" place, believed to have been situated in Sussex, because of the large number of early recordings in that region. An estimated seven to ten thousand villages and hamlets are known to have disappeared since the 12th Century, due to such natural causes as the Black Death of 1348, in which an eighth of the population perished, and to the widespread practice of enforced "clearing" and enclosure of rural lands for sheep pastures from the 15^th century onwards. The placename is composed of the Middle English personal name "Luke, Luck", which ultimately derives from "Lucas", a Latin form of the Greek "Loucas", man from Lucania (a region in Italy), and the Middle English "ford", a ford; hence, "Luke's or Luck's ford".

Source: www.surnamedb.com

However, Judith Glover in her book, “Sussex Place-Names” suggests the surname of Luxford is a derivative of “Locc’s ford”, where “Lock” crossed a stream, in the vicinity of Luxford Farm, Crowborough where its name is given as Lockesford in 1327 and Luckesford in 1587. In 1387, a Richard Loggesford is recorded living in the market town of East Grinstead, some 13 miles north-west, which is almost identical with Luggesford recorded in 1279.

Glover, J. 1997, Sussex Place-Names, page 140, Countryside Books. Newbury. Berkshire

The distribution of Luxford across England: 1841, 1881 and 1891

Name Frequency

The current distribution of the Luxford surname in Britain for the 1841, 1881 and 1911 around shown in the graphs below. Also, the recordings of the Luxford surname for 1841-1911 are also shown below.

Source: https://www.your-family-history.com/surname/l/luxford/