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 Norse and Old English words
of 'kaka' and 'brede'. 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.
All the evidence I have seen was that the Cakebreads were
of humble or working class throughout the ages and unfortunately did not
include any noble families so there would be NO Coats-of-Arms, although some US
based web-sites seem to have invented them !!
I don't think so !!
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.
Number of Cakebread Heads of Family
| 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 and burial
records of Cakebreads from 1551 in the latter half of the 16th Century at
Witney, west of Oxford, but from the early 1600s there were no more.
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... Originally moved from Kent in late 1950's.
- 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.
Midland Cakebreads
Top of Page
