CAKEBREAD Name Notes
HISTORICAL
All Family History research reveals numerous spelling variations of
surnames and ours is no exception. The earliest record so far known (in Latin)
is in the Pipe Rolls of Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire 1109 where
Aedwinus Cacabred was mentioned in what appears to be a land dispute.
Aedwinus was referred to as "a farmer in the flour trade" and possibly
was a branch of the Hereward family. Although it was so soon after the Norman
conquest when there were many French people living in Britain there appears to
be no French inference in the names.
In 1396 JOHN CAKEBREAD donated
money to the Church of St.John, Burford, Oxfordshire.
There are also
three references to a William Cakebrede in the University of Oxford
Chancellor's Court records for the year 1501.
ORIGINS
Who knows !!
In early times people only had one name but
were identified by their trade or their place of residence.
It is easy to
assume that like so many present day surnames our CAKEBREAD ancestors were in
the bakery trade. But is it as simple as that ? Over the last 1000
years our language has changed considerably and in the 1000 years before
that there were many foreign influences from different cultures such as
Roman and Viking.
We see above that by 1109, very soon after the Norman
Conquest, an early variation of the name was in use and the constituent parts
CACA and BRED are reasonably similar to Old English and Old Norse words. It is
reasonable to assume it is not therefore of French influence. However, some
input on this topic submitted by another reseacher indicates far more
possibilities than the obvious interpretation. They can be seen
here.
GEOGRAPHICAL
After
that the earliest records are from Parish Registers in a wide area around
Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire and into nearby Essex but this may be purely
due the fact that such records were first kept here, or have been preserved
better.
Distribution Clues from Parish Records
The
early predominance of the name in the home counties up to 1800 can be
seen on the following map indicating the presence of Parish Records on the
IGI.
Click on image for larger map
The larger map shows the concentration of records in the Home Counties plus the few isolated examples in other counties which seemed to be single families. By 1800 several families existed in the Banbury / Bloxham area of north Oxfordshire, but the name was slow in spreading into other counties.
1881 National Census
By
1881 the London area was the heart of the distribution of CAKEBREAD families.
The group of families in Oxfordshire had diminished and several had moved to
Coventry in Warwickshire.
| Middlesex | 29 | |
| Essex | 19 | |
| Hertfordshire | 14 | |
| Surrey | 8 | |
| Warwickshire | 7 | All descendants of Oxfordshire Cakebreads |
| Kent | 5 | |
| Hampshire | 3 | |
| Northamptonshire | 3 | |
| Oxfordshire | 3 | |
| Bedfordshire | 1 | |
| Nottinghamshire | 1 | From Middlesex |
| Shropshire | 1 | From Middlesex |
| Staffordshire | 1 | Descendant of Oxfordshire Cakebreads |
The name now occurs in most areas of the British Isles. These are some other known occurrences:
- Hertfordshire, Essex and London…Many records old and present and probably the origin of many Cakebread communities around Britain.
- Oxfordshire.....There are baptism records of Cakebreads from 1551 in the latter half of the 16th Century at Witney, west of Oxford. From 1650 baptisms were registered in Bloxham,Banbury, and nearby districts in northern Oxfordshire. These Cakebreads were early members of the Presbyterian Church and by 1800 there were several families. By 1901 there were no Cakebreads living in Bloxham.
- Northamptonshire.... The Cakebreads seemed to have moved from nearby Bloxham in Oxfordshire after 1770 and the first marriage was in 1774. The Cakebreads became associated with the stone trade and were still practising a Century later.
- Warwickshire....A few records in the early 17th century in Warwick and a family at Kineton 200 years later. Three families moved from Bloxham to Coventry in 1839 where there are still families today.
- Birmingham...Several families in the 19th Century, originated in Bishops Stortford, Essex.
- Solihull, Shirley areas of south Birmingham....a branch descended from the north Oxfordshire villages (near Bloxham) around the late 1700s. (separately researched). (See below for Chart)
- Staffordshire: West Bromwich area of north Birmingham...descendants of George 1815 from Bloxham, OXF.
- Mid Wales and Welsh Border areas…Several Cakebread families exist there now…..Probably moved there in early 1800s from the Home Counties.
- Scotland (Oban)..Several Cakebread families are there now...Origin not known.
- Manchester...where there is a Cakebread Street
Note: I would be interested to hear from researchers who have connections to any of these areas, the Welsh Cakebreads in particular.
CAKEBREADs in the Midlands
As my
traceable Cakebread ancestors have lived in the English Midlands for about 300
years all my research has concentrated on that area. In my efforts to find
connections I have gathered a lot of information which I have set out on other
pages. Although this is nowhere near complete it might be useful to other
reseachers.
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