The Shield is: Quarterly, per fess indented azure and argent,
in the first quarter a lion passant guardent or.
Translation: Azure (blue) denotes Truth and Loyalty.
Argent (white) signifies Peace and Sincerity. Or (yellow) denotes Generosity
and Elevation of Mind.
The Crest is: A wyvern sable, vulned in the side gules.
The Motto is: "Esse quam videri", 'To be, rather than to seem'.
Gaelic Spelling: de Crochtas.
Origin: England
Variant spellings for Croft: Crofte, and Crofts.
The surname Croft is toponymic in origin, belonging to that group of surnames derived from the place where the original bearer once dwelt or where he once held land. Ultimately the surname is of English origin, being derived from the Old English word "croft", meaning a "croft", in other words, a "small farm" or "small-holding". The name Croft is also borne by several villages in England, the most usual sources of the surname being the villages Yorkshire, Herefordshire (the home of the Baronets Croft) and Lincolnshire; thus the Surnames may indicate "one who lived at Croft".
The surname arrived in Ireland in the late sixteenth century when an English family of this name settled in County Cork. The surname is here frequently found in the Gaelicized form, de Crochtas, and in the plural form Crofts.
First found in York. Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: William Croft who settled in Lynn, in 1650. Thomas Croft of Hadley settled there in 1683. George Croft settled in Wickford in 1674. The widow of Thomas Croft in 1704 married an Indian named Samuel Crofoot.
Source: Family Heritage Shop
