HAROLD Family History

This most interesting surname is German, cognate with the English name "Harrod", which itself derives from the Anglo-Saxon personal name "Here-weald" meaning "army power". Harold was a popular Scandinavian given name; for example, Harold Harefoot was the second Danish King, succeeding Canute in 1035, and Harold 11, the last Saxon King killed at Hastings in 1066, was partly of Danish blood. The surname dates back to the late 12th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Radulfus Harold (1196) witness, "The Feet of Fines, Yorkshire", and Philip Herald (1327) "The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex".