In my research I have
come across several different explanations of the origin of the name Barefoot.Several
of those explanations and their sources follow.Most
assuredly the name is not Native American, and it seems that the Pennsylvania
Barefoot line, at least, has connections to Ireland.Whether
it goes back further to Scandinavia is not known.
According to “Wallace-Bruce
and Closely Related Families” by James Wallace:
A history of one branch
of the Barefoot family says there were two Barefoot men – Englishmen –
who fought in the Battle of Boyne on the Protestant side.They
were brothers.After the war (William,
Prince of Orange, against James II, 1690) they were given by King William
what was called Crown land in Ireland.It
is supposed the Barefoot men were Episcopalian, as nearly all the British
officers belonged to the established church.The
one we sprung from married a Scotch woman who was said to be very devout
and brought her family up in the old secular fashion, always taking the
children with her to church. The Barefoot men were tall, measured six feet
or more, and of fair complexion.They
were rather long-lived.
There is also a tradition
that among the foreigners – gallant Protestants – who rallied to Prince
William’s banner from France, Holland, Germany and Scandinavia, there were
two Norwegians named Barfod, who were descendants (or claimed to be) of
the Norwegian King Magnus III (1093-1103) and that for their valor in the
Battle of the Boyne King William bestowed upon them Crown land in Ulster,
Ireland.
According to information
contained in the Genealogy of James Barefoot, Sr., and Mary Sleek (Slick):
King Magnus III, called
Magnus Barefoot, was the son of Olaf III (ruled1066-1093) considered Norway’s
patron saint.Magnus was born in
1073 and came to the throne in 1093.He
made three expeditions to Scotland and established rule over the Orkneys
and the Hebrides, including the Isle of Man.On
returning home from his conquest of the Hebrides around 1097 he adopted
the dress in use there and went about barelegged, having a short tunic
and also an upper garment, and so men called him “Barefoot.”[This
is the earliest authentic mention of the kilt.]On
August 24, 1103 Magnus and a few of his men were waiting to receive a promised
herd of cattle in a swampy region near Ulster, Ireland, when they were
ambushed by a large group of Irish.Magnus
was killed.He was given a Christian
burial and is interred somewhere near Dublin.He
was succeeded by his three sons – Olaf IV, Eystein I, Sigurd – who reigned
jointly.
According to Barefoot-Withrow
Families” by Anne and Vivian Daughterty:
The name Barefoot
is an ancient Anglo-Saxon name.The
name Robert Barefot was recorded in Northamptonshire,England
as early as 1160 according to “The First Century of English Feudalism”
by F. M. Stenton.The name Reginald
Barfot is in the “Pipe Rolls of Cumberland” in 1203.A
John Barfot was in the “Assize Rolls of Kent” in 1317.The
name Barefoot has had many spellings over many years.Barefoote,
Barfoot, Burfot, Berfot to mention a few.The
Danes spell the name Barfoed.The
Norwegian spelling is Barfod.Barford
is the name of several places in England (other spellings of this name
were Barley Ford, Ford of the Bear and Birch Ford).In
England the name was also given to one who went barefooted and persons
sent to a holy place as a penance were often ordered to go barefoot.
From “New Dictionary of American Family Names” by
Eldson C. Smith, published by Harper & Row, 1956:
Barefoot (Eng) one
who had the habit of going about barefoot; persons sent to a holy place
as a penance were often ordered to go barefoot; one who came from Barford
(barley ford, ford of the bear, birch ford), the name of several places
in England.