Rice Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History
George Talbot Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor, Lord Dynevor (1765-1852)
1) (Baron Dynevor). Quarterly, 1st and 4th, per bend sinister erm. and ermines a lion ramp. or, for Trevor; 2nd and 3rd, ar. a chev. betw. three ravens sa., for Rice. Crests —1st: Upon a chapeau gu. turned up erm. a wyvern, wings elevated sa., for Trevor; 2nd : A raven sa., for Rice. Supporters—Dexter, a griffin per fess or and ar. wings addorsed and inverted, the tail betw. the legs; sinister, a talbot ar. ears erm. collared flory counterflory gu. and charged on the shoulder with a trefoil slipped vert. Motto—Secret et hardi.
2) (Boemer, co. Bucks, temp. Mary I.). Ar. on a chev. engr. sa. betw. three reindeers' heads erased gu. as many cinquefoils erm.
3) (co. Essex). Gu. a chev. (another, a fess) vair betw. three leopards' faces or.
4) (London). Ar. on a chev. betw. three spearheads gu. five plates, on a chief az. three birds or.
5) (Preston, co. Suffolk). Ar. three spearheads in fess gu. a chief az. Crest—A raven's head erased or.
6) (Wales). Ar. a chev. betw. three ravens sa. Crest—A raven ppr.
7) (Llwn-y-brain, co. Carmarthen). (Dane Court, co. Kent). Ar. a chev. erminois cotised sa. betw. three ravens of the last. Crest—A lion ramp. ppr. holding in the paw a bar shot sa. Motto—Cadarn-yw-fy-ffydd-y-portha-duw-y-gigfrain.
8) Ar. a chev. sa. between three ravens close ppr.
9) Ar. a chev. ermines cotised sa. betw. three ravens of the last.
10) Ar. on a cross sa. betw. four spearheads az. five crescents or.
11) (Ballymacdoyle, co. Kerry; allowed by Hawkins, Ulster, 1766, to Thomas Rice, Esq., of Ballymacdoyle, and his brother, James Rice, of Nantes, in France, seventh in descent from Edward Rice, Esq., of Dingle, co. Kerry, whose ancestor, Sir John Rice, Knt., of Buttevant, was possessed of lands in co. Cork, temp. Edward III., 1357). Quarterly, 1st and 4th, per pale indented ar. and gu.; 2nd and 3rd, az. a lion ramp. or. Crest—A leopard's face gu. ducally crowned or. Motto—Fides non timet.
12) (Lord Monteagle). Quarterly, 1st, per pale indented ar. and gu., for Rice, of Kerry, originally of Wales; 2nd, az. a lion ramp. or; 3rd, paly of six ar. and az. a bend counterchanged; 4th, or, on a chev. betw. three mascles gu. as many cinquefoils of the first, pierced of the second, for Spring. Supporters—Two eagles, wings expanded and inverted ppr. each collared with a bar gemelle or, from the lower.bar an escutcheon pendent gold, charged with a portcullis sa. Crests—1st, Rice: A leopard's face guard, ppr. crowned with a five-leaved coronet or; 2nd, Spring: A demi buck salient quarterly or and ar. Motto— Alte fert aquila.
13) (ap Hugh) (Provost Marshal of the Army; Fun. Ent. Ulster's Office, 1597). Gu. a lion ramp. and a border indented or.
Hon. Harriet Lucy Rice (1799-1879), daughter of 3rd Baron Dynevor
Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon (1790-1866)
Origin, Meaning, Family History and Rice Coat of Arms and Family Crest
Rice Surname Name Meaning, Origin, History, & Etymology
This is a baptismal or patronymic surname meaning "the son of Rhys", which was an old Welsh personal (first) name of great antiquity, a surname that has become greatly ramified in the United States where it ranks in the top 200 most popular surnames as of the 2010 Census. One source asserts it the personal name Rhys or Reese in Wales meant "red". A second source claims it means "to rush" or "ardor" or "a rushing", figuratively signifying a hero, or a brave/impetuous man, conveying enthusiasm. Third, in his 1870 book, Patronymica Cornu-Britannica, author Richard Stephen Charnock asserts this name ultimately derives from Aρης, Mars, the Roman God of War.
One of the earliest bearers of this masculine given name was Rhys ab Tewdwr ab Eineon ab Owen ab Howell Dda, also known as Rhys ab Tewdwr Mawr, who lived in medieval times or the Middle Ages, from the years 1065 to 1093 AD. He was the King of Debeubarth in Wales and a member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a descenadny of Rhodri ap Merfyn (aka Rhodri the Great, King of Wales), born in the present day Carmarthenshire. He was killed by the Norman French, but his son Gruffydd ap Rhys (1081-1137 AD) was the ancestor of the storied Tudor dynasty in Wales and England. Rees, Reese, and Reece are all Anglicized form of the name. It also appears in the form Hris in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles of Cambridgeshire, England in 1052 AD, as well as in the form Rees in the Domesday Book of Cheshire in 1086 AD, the latter being a survey of England and Wales ordered by William the Conqueror after the Norman Invasion.
14th century effigy of Rhys ap Gruffyd, The Lord Rhys, at St. Davids Cathedral
Rice ap Gryffydd (1132–1197), Prince of Wales
credit: Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales
In addition to Wales and England, the name also present in Ireland and Northern Ireland. In his book, A Guide to Irish Names, Edward MacLaysaght, a well-respected genealogist, states "The Rices of Munster of Welsh origin; those of Oriel (Armagh and Louth) are Ó Maolchraoibhe".
Alternately, in some instances, it can be an Americanized or Anglicized spelling of the German surname Reis, meaning undergrowth or brushwood, from Middle High German ris, a topographic name. This name was purportedly first found in Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic) in the Holy Roman Empire, the main stay of western Christendom during medieval times and the Middle Ages in Europe. A one Clesse Reysse was recorded in Mainz in 1444 AD and Leonhart Reiser was documented in the city of Nuremberg in 1443 AD.
Please note coadb.com has a separate page for the Rhys surname. If you are interested in said name, please search for it using the above search box. This page is primarily tailored to the Rice last name. For more details beyond what is offered on this page, see the 1858 book, "Genealogical History of The Rice Family: Descendants of Deacon Edmund Rice" by Andrew Henshaw Ward, available for free at archive.org.
Some spelling variants or names with similar etymologies include Rhys, Rees, Ap-Rhys, le Roz, Reccee, Rees, Reece, Reese, Price, Pryce, Reice, Riece, Roice, Wrice, Ruice, Ricey, Rhice, Rise, and Ryce.
Popularity & Geographic Distribution
The last name Rice ranks 169th in popularity in the United Status as of the 2000 Census. The name ranks particularly high in the following four states: Kentucky, Ohio, Vermont, and Montana. The surname Rice frequency/commonness ranks as follows in the British Isles: England (492nd), Scotland (622nd), Wales (429th), Ireland (372nd) and Northern Ireland (109th). In England, it ranks highest in county Devon. In Scotland, the surname ranks highest in Ross and Cromarty. In Wales, it ranks highest in Radnorshire. In Ireland, it ranks highest in counties Louth and Carlow. In Northern Ireland, it ranks highest in county Armagh and Down. The name is also present throughout the remainder English speaking world: Canada (586th), New Zealand (767th), Australia (498th), and South Africa (2,540th).
Early Bearers of the Surname
William Res was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire, England in 1203 AD. In 1288 AD, John Rees was documented in the Fine Court Rolls of county Suffolk. A one Thomas Rice was recorded in the Wills at Chester in Great Saughall, England in 1605. The Register of the University of Oxford lists Henry Rice of county Carmarthen in 1607 as Jesus College.
Rice Family Tree & Rice Genealogy
The following is a discussion of four different noble, royal, landed, or aristocratic families bearing this last name. There are others for the Rhys family, but those can be seen by running a search for our Rhys page above.
Bushmount House
credit: buildingsofireland.ie
Rice of Bushmount
This branch of the Rice family tree has a genealogy that traces back several hundred years. They descend from Edward Rice who was an Esquire of Dingle T'Couch, county Kerry, Ireland who lived in the 1500s AD. He married Anne, daughter of John Wall of Limerick, and fathered a son with her named Robert. Robert was an Esquire of Dingle who married Juliana, daughter of Sir James Whyte, of Cashel, county Tipperary, and he was the father of Stephen. This Stephen Rice was an Esquire of Dingle and a Member of Parliament for county Kerry in 1613. He married Helen, daughter of Thomas Trant of Cahir Trant, and had two sons: James (Member of Parliament for Dingle, from whom descended Lord Monteagle), Dominick (Member of Parliament for Dingle, married Alice, daughter of James Hassey, Baron of Galtrim, from whom descends Sir Stephen Rice of Mount Rice in Ireland), and John. The son John Rice was an Esquire of Single. He had four issue: Barbara (married and had children), John (of Dingle, died without posterity and willed his lands to Thomas Rice George), and Dominick. His son Dominick Rice was an Esquire of Dingle who married his cousin-german, Ms. Rice, and had issue with her as follows: Dominick (his heir), Elizabeth (married Ms. Brunton and later Thomas Blennerhasset, having a daughter who married Peter Thompson of Tralee), Joan (married her cousin, Rice of Dingle, had a son named Dominick who was a Barrister-at-Law), and Mary (married John Lawlor of Lackamore). The only son, Dominic Rice, was an Esquire of Taulaught and Raccany, county Kerry, was born around 1720, and he married Mary, daughter and co-heiress of John Collis of Talaght, and had a daughter with her named Elizabeth (married Francis Eagar of Cuel) and a son and successor named John. This John was an Esquire of Ballymacawhim Castle in county Kerry, Ireland, who was born in 1754. In 1784, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Monckton Carey of Dromarin, and had one child with her: Dominick. Dominick was an Esquire of Bushmount who was born in 1785. In 1807, he married Frances, daughter of Justice Griffin of Lacca, and had ten issue with her as follows: 1) Justice Dominick (his heir), 2) John (of Ballyloughrane, Justice of the Peace, married Susan James of Snugborough, had children), 3) Dominick (born 1820), 4) Richard (1829), 5) Ellen (born 1810, married Robert McCarthy Hilliard of Billerroughe House, Listowel, had children), 6) Elizabeth (married Benjamin Jackson of Galway, had issue), 7) Sarah (born 1818, married William Pope of Causeway and later Joseph Hamilton of Tarbet), 8) Fracnes (born 1822, a Nun in the Covent of the Sisters of Mercy), 9) Mary (married Edward Mulchinock of Clogher's House in Kerry and Pembroke Road in Dublin, Justice of the Peace), and 10) Anne (a Nun in the Order of the Sisters of Mercy, born in 1827). He died in 1864 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Justice D. Justice Dominick Rice was an Esquire of Bushmount, county Kerry, Ireland, who was born in 1813. In 1850, he married Bidelia Mary, daughter of John Geoghegan of Cork, and had seven children with her as follows: Dominick (1851), Richard Justice (1852, Captain in the Kerry Militia), William Francis (1854), Justice Griffin (1860), Delia Katherine (1856), Frances Anne (1858), and Ellen Mary (1868). The Rice Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Rice Family Crest by those who are somewhat unfamiliar with heraldry, genealogy, and history) has the following heraldic blazon: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, per pale indented argent and gules, 2nd and 3rd, azure, a lion rampant or, armed and langued gules. Crest: A leopard's face gules ducally crowned or. Motto: Fides non timet. This family was seated at Bushmount, Causeway, Tralee, Ireland, in the British Isles of Europe.
Llwyn y Brain Manor House
credit: Eric Jones at geograph.org.uk
Rice of Llwyn-y-brain
The lineage or ancestry of this branch of the Rice family tree traces back to an ancient family of Cambrian (similar to Welsh, Celtic British kingdoms in the medieval period after the wane of Rome) ancestry. Walter Rice was an Esquire of Llwyn-y-Brain, county Carmarthen, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Penoyre Watkins of county Brecon, Broadway, county Carmarthe, and by her has issue named Caroline and Walter. He died in 1793 and was succeeded by his son Walter. This Walter Rice was an Esquire of Llwyn-y-Brain, who married Mary Anne, daughter of Herbert Evans, an Esquire of Highmead, county Cardigan, and had the following issue with her: Walter, George Watkin (see below), Herbert Henry (married Isabella, daughter of General Munt, had issue named Herbert Henry, Edward John, and Henrietta Elizabeth), Mary Anne (married Lieutenant General Langermann of Chateau Province in Belgium, had sons named Godfrai George and Lieutenant General Langermann), Eliza Caroline, Margaretta Jane (married Pryse Pryse Lovenden, having issue named Sir Pryse Pryse, Baronet, Margaret, Walter, and Caroline Agnes) and Decima Dorothea (married John Pugh Vaughan Pryse of Bwlch Bychan, county Cardigan, had issue named Alice Eliza Maude, John Carbery Pugh, and Pryse, took the surname Vaughan). He died in 1844. His son, Walter George Watkins Rice was an Esquire of Llyn-y-Brain in county Carmarthen, Wales, a Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, High Sheriff, Captain of the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers, and Major Royal Carmarthen Militia who was born in 1816. The arms of this branch of the Rice family tree are blazoned in heraldry as follows: Argent, a chevron ermine cotised sable, between three ravens of the last. Crest: A lion rampant proper, holding in his paw a bar shot sable. Motto: Cadarn-yw-fy-ffydd-y-portha-duw-y-gigfrain. The family seat (area where they held land, houses, titles, and positions) was Llyn-y-Brain, Llandovery, county Carmarthen, Wales, in present day United Kingdom.
Walter Rice (1634–1675)
credit: National Trust Images
Edward Royd Rice (1790), MP & cricketer
credit: Dover Collections
Rice of Dane Court
The Rice genealogy of this branch begins with Edward Royd Rice, son of Henry Rice and Sarah Sampson, and grandson of Walter Rice of Llwyn-y-Brain Hall, an Esquire of Dane Court, county Kent, England, who was born in 1790. He was a Member of Parliament for Dover, Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, and High Sheriff. In 1818, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Knight of Godmersham Park, and had 15 children with her as follows: 1) Edward Bridges (see below), 2) Henry (Captain of the 72nd Highlanders), 3) John Morland (Rector of Bramber, Sussex, Fellow of Magdalen College, married Caroline Penelope York of Wighill Park in York), 4) George William (Commander of the Royal Navy, born 1827), 5) Captain Charles Augustus (married his cousin, Adela Mary, daughter of Edward Knight of Chawton Hall), 6) Lieutenant Colonel Cecil (Major 72nd Highlanders, married Frances Anne, daughter of Mark Napier, had issue), 7) Water Brook (Major in the Royal Army), 8) Arthur (Lieutenant of the 72nd Highlanders), 9) Ernest (Captain in the Royal Navy, born 1840, married Laura, daughter of Edward York of Wighill Park, England), 10) Lionel (married Eleanor, daughter of Hay Murray in 1878), 11) Fanny Margaretta (married George William, 9th Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham), 12) Elizabeth Louisa, 13) Marianne Sophia (Reverend Sir Emilius Bayley, Baronet), 14) Caroline Cassandra, and 15) Florence Mary (married John Osmaston of Osmaston in Derby, England in 1861). He passed away in November of 1878 and was succeeded by his eldest son Edward. This Edward Rice Bridges was an Esquire of Dane Court, county Kent, as well as a Justice of the Peace and a Vice Admiral in the Royal Navy, who was born in 1819. In 1864, he married Cecilia Caroline, daughter of Reverend William Vernon Harcourt, of Nuneham Park, county Oxford, England, and had a son and heir with her named Henry Edward Harcourt, who was born in 1864. They family was seated (owned/held land, manors, titles, positions) at two locations in England (modern day United Kingdom, once called Great Britain): Dane Court, Sandwich, county Kent and Hampton Hill House, bear Bishop's Waltham. They bore the same arms as the Rice family of Llwyn-y-brain.
Rev. John Morland Rice (1823-1897)
Admiral Sir Edward Rice (1820-1902)
Rice of Loughor
The lineage or ancestry of this branch of the Rice family tree traces back to Reese Ap John, of Mydvai or Morthvey, county Caermarthen, who himself descended from the Meddygon Mydavi, who owned estates there in the year 1220 AD.Reese married Margaret, daughter of Owen Ap Reese of Morthbey, and had two sons with her: John and Morgan. His son Morgan Ap-Reese inherited Rhyblid and other lands from his Uncle, Bishop Owen. Morgan married Margaret Rhytherck, and had a son with her named Samuel. This Samuel Rees, who owned estates at Loughhor, Llanmadock, and Langenith in county Glamorgan, Wales. He died in 1739 and had two daughters and two sons: Anne (who married Mr. Hughes), Deborah, and John (born 1716), and Morgan. His son Morgan Rice moved to London, England where he was active as a merchant. He procured sizeable estates in county Surrey, England. He was Lord of the manor of Tooting and others manors, was High Sheriff, and was a Deputy Lieutenant. He married Mary, daughter and heiress of William Bucknall, Esquire and was the father of one son with her named John. This son, John Rice, was an Esquire of The Hill House Correy, Loughor, county Glamorgan, and lord of the manor of Totting Graveney. In 1773, he married Frances, daughter of Samuel Plumbe of Norfolk/Middlesex, Lord Mayor of London, and had several issue with her including: John Morgan (his heir), Samuel (Colonel in the 51st Regiment who fought in the Peninsula War and at the Battle of Waterloo where Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated by the British, married Sibella Mansfield, had a daughter who married Captain Bowes of Cowlam), Harry (a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy), Charles (a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy), Sir Ralph (born 1781, Recorder of Price of Wales Island, Judge of the Supreme Court, Knighted in 1817, married Anne, daughter of Edmund Burke in 1809), Frederick (Captain in the 51st Regiment), Thomas (proctor, in 1783, married Augusta, daughter of C. Bacon of Moor Park, and a son named Augusta and a daughter named Louisa), and Frances (married John Ferryman and had issue named Julia, Mary, and Augustus Halifax, the later became a Major General in the Army). He died in 1801 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Reverend John Morgan Rice, of The Grove, Surrey, of Brighton, Loughor, Glamorganshire, who was born in 1775. In 1804, he married Elizabeth, daughter of William Holmes of Westcoombe Park, and had the following issue with her: Horatio Morgan (see below), Percy John (Major in the 51st Regiment, died in India), Emily Elizabeth (married Admiral Samuel Thornton, had children named Clara Helen and Percy Melville), Lucy Maria (married Edmund William in 1845, had sons named Edmund Harry and Edmund William, died in Florence in 1859), and Helena Louisa (married Reverend Augustus William Dorset Fellows, vicar of Nether Wallop, had a daughter named Lucy Maude, Helen). He died in 1833 and was succeeded by his son Horario. The Reverend Horatio Morgan Rice of Loughor was of county Caetmarthen, Wales and was the rector of South Hill-with-Calling in county Cornwall, England, as well as a magistrate of said county, who was born in November of 1805. In 1841, he married Emily Beatrice, daughter of Admiral John Dick of Braid and Augusta Goodrich of Saling Grove, and had issue with her as follows: Morgan John (1847) and Lucy Augusta. The Rice Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Rice Family Crest or Rice Family Shield by those somewhat unfamiliar with heraldry, history, and genealogy) is blazoned in the medieval and Middle Age European art of heraldry as follows: Sable, a chevron between three spear heads argent, their points embued. Motto: Gwell pwyll nag aur. This family resided at South Hill Rectory, Callington, county Cornwall, England, near the Welsh border (modern day United Kingdom in the British Isles of Europe, once called Great Britain).
Other Rice Pedigree & Family Trees
Ephraim Rice married Sarah Whitney. In 1727, they had a son named Amos Rice who was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in colonial America. He married Martha Hager and had a son with her named Gardiner Gardner Rice who was born in Petersham, Massachusetts in 1767. He married Lydia Hager and had two issue with her: Dolly (married Timothy Rice) and Amos. The son Amos was born in Dummerston, Vermont in 1792. He married Susan Davenport and had the following children with her: Mary, Lydia (Blackwood), Polly, Sharlotte, Fanny, Lousia, Cazeah, Mamos, and Wade. The son Wade Rice was born in 1837. He passed away in 1913.
Here is another Rice Pedigree:
-John Rice Sr. (born in England in 1646, married Elizabeth, daughter of Randal and Frances Dungan Holden, had two sons: John Jr. and Randall)
-Captain John Rice Jr. (born in Warwick, Rhode Island Colony, in 1675, married Elnathan Whipple, had issue named John, Elizabeth, Thomas, Mary, Nathan, Barbara, William, Mary, Lydia, Randall, and Elnathan)
-Captain Randall Rice (born in Warwick, Rhode Island, America in 1714, married Dinah Greene, father of John, Job, Olney, Thomas, Rhoby, Fones, William, Mary, Phebe, Randall, Nathan, Elnathan, James, Caleb, and Daniel)
-Job Rice (born in Warwick, RI in 1737, married Ann Gorton, was father of the following children: John, Noel, Freelove, Edward, Job, Hannah, and Anna)
-Edward W. Rice (born in Warwick, RI in 1769, married Deborah, had issue named Waite, Waitz, Noel, Charles R., Edward, Vinas, Nancy, Job, Mahala, Squire, Peleg, Lory Gorton, Walter)
-Noel Rice (born in New York in 1789, married Persis Hawley, had issue named Noel, Nancy, Charles Willard, and William H.)
-Noel Rice (born in New York in 1815, married Maria Reasner, Amanda Parfdee, and Emeliza Vanwyck, fathered the following children in America before his 1900 death in Homer Village, Calhoun, Michigan: Albert, Squire M., Ella, William O., Henry M., Noel Job, May C., Clara Belle, and Howard H.)
-Albert. Rice (born in Michigan in 1839, married Marcy C. Barter, had son named Frederick)
-Frederick A. Rice (born in Box Township, Missouri in 1860, married Flora Wykkel, had issue named Albert Arthur and Edward Franklin, died in Los Angeles, California)
-Edward Franklin Rice (born in Kent, Michigan in 1891, married Jessie Beatrice Van Haitsma in Grandville, MI in 1916, died in Glendale, Los Angeles, CA in 1980)
Sedley Rice (1801-1871), great-great-great grandson of John Rice Sr.
Early American and New World Settlers
Edmund Rice was an early American immigrant who lived from 1594 to 1663. His origins (who his parents were) is a topic of dispute among genealogists. He was born in Suffolk, England and also lived in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, prior to coming to America, where he landed in Massachusetts in 1638. It is believed he first lived in Watertown, MA. Many members of the Rice family in northeastern United States can claim descent/lineage from him. He married Thomasine Frost while still living in England and had ten children with her as follows: Mary (born 1619), Henry (born 1620), Edward (born 1622, married Agnes Bent), Thomas (born around 1625, married Mary King), Lydia (married Hugh Drury), Matthew Rice (born in 1628, married Martha Lamson), Daniel (born in 1632), Samuel (born 1634, married Elizabeth King, Mary Dix Brown, and Sarah White Hosmer, served in the Massachusetts Militia during King Philip's War), Joseph (born 1638, married Mercy King, Mary Beers, and Sarah Prescott Wheeler), and Benjamin Rice (born in 1640 at Sudbury, Massachusetts, married Mary Browne and Mary Chamberlain Graves).
Other settlers in colonial America bearing this surname include: James and John Rice came to Virginia board the Young William in 1679, Henry Rice (Virginia 1622), Ann Rice (Virginia 1635), John Rice (Virginia 1629), Richard Rice (Virginia 1650), Carelton Rice (Virginia 1717), and Daniel Rice (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1650).
In Canada, one of the first settlers bearing this last name was David Rice, who Came to Nova Scotia in 1750. In 1760, Benjamin and Beriah Rice came to Annapolis in the same province. In Australia, Thomas Rice, a convict from Somerset, England, came to Van Diemen's Land (modern day Tasmania) aboard the Argyle in 1831. In 1833, Catherine Rice, a convict from Lancaster, England, came aboard the Amphrite in 1833, settling in New South Wales (then a penal colony). In New Zealand, one of the first bearers of this surname was William Rice, who came to Nelson in 1842 aboard the Bombay.
Early Americans Bearing the Rice Family Crest
Charles Bolton's American Armory (1927) contains three entries for this surname:
1) Argent on a chevron engrailed sable bet three reindeers' heads couped [gules] 3 cinquefoils [ermine] Crest: A griffin's head (?) erased. Water color by J. Coles, reproduced in C. E. Rice's "By the name of Rice," geneal, of desc. of Dea Edmund Rice of Co. Bucks, Eng. and Sudbury, Mass., d. 1663.
2) Argent a chevron sable between three crows proper. Crest: a crow of the field. Motto: Secret et Hardi "Ex libris Alexander Hamilton Rice," explorer, of Boston. Tiffany & Co., sc.
3) Quarterly 1st and 4th: Per pale indented argent and gules; 2nd and 3rd: Azure a lion rampant or Crest: a crowned leopard's face (?). From seals on 2 deeds of John Rice and Rebecca, his wife, 1687 and 1686. Wm. & Mary Quar., Jan 1894, p. 156.
Matthew's American Armoury and Bluebook (1907) contains one entry for this surname: Nora Claire Rice (nee Grant) who was born at Tudor Palace, Georgetown, D.C. and in 1887, married Colonel William Powerll Rice of Washington. They had a son named Vaughan Manning who was born at Aberdeen Washington in 1890. Arms: Grant: Argent, three lions rampant azure, a chief of the second. Crest: A demi-lion argent. Motto: Stand Sure. Arms: Manning" Gules a cross flory, between four trefoils slipped or; Crest: Out of a ducal coronet an eagle';s head sable between two ostrich feathers. Arms: Smith: Or, on a chevron cotised between three demi-griffins the two in chief respectant: Crest: An elephant's head erased gules, on the neck a fleur-de-lis. Arms: Vaughan, Per see sable and argent, a lion rampant counterchanged, armed and langued gules. Arms: Hallowell: Argent, on a chevron sable three annulets of the field. Crest: A boar's head erect between two ostrich feathers.
Crozier's General Armory (1904) contains one entry for this surname: John Rice of Rappahannock County, Virginia, 1687, from county Kerry, Ireland, a direct descendant of Sir John Rice of Buttevant who lived in 1357 AD. Quarterly: 1st and 4th: Per pale indented argent and gules (for Rice). 2nd and 3rd: Azure, a lion rampant or (for Trevor).
Mottoes
I have identified four Rice family mottoes:
1) Secret et hardi (Secret and bold)
2) Cadarn-yw-fy-ffydd-y-portha-duw-y-gigfrain (so sure is my faith in god, it feeds ravens)
3) Fides non timet (Faith fears not)
4) Alte fert aquila (High eagle?)
Colonel George Rice-Trevor (1795–1869), 4th Baron Dynevor
We have 13 coats of arms for the Rice surname depicted here. These 13 blazons are from Bernard Burke's book The General Armory of England, Ireland, and Scotland, which was published in 1848. The bottom of this page contains the blazons, and in many instances contains some historical, geographical, and genealogical about where coat of arms was found and who bore it. People with this last name that bore an Rice Coat of Arms (or mistakenly called the Rice Family Crest)
1) Cecil Rice, Baroness Divevor, 1782, widow of George Rice
2) Rice to De Cardonnel, Royal License dated 21 May 1787, Cecil, Baroness Dynevor, of Wales, 1787
3) Rice, late de Cardonnel, 4 February 1817, George Talbor, 3rd Baron, of county Carmarthen, Wales, 1817
4) J.C. Rice-Vaughan-Pryse of Llwyn-y-Brain, county Carmarthen, Wales, 1887
5) Rice Trevor, son of Baron Dynevor, of Wales, 1825
6) Rice to Warkins, of Llwyn-y-Brain, county Carmarthen, Wales, Captain in the Welsh Fusiliers, 1866.
There are hundreds of notable people with the Rice surname. This page will mention a handful. Famous people with this last name include: 1) Albert E. Rice (1845-1921) who was a legislator, banker, and newspaperman who was the 10th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota from 1887 to 1891, 2) Alexander Hamilton Rice (1818-1895) who was an American businessman who served as the 15th Mayor of Boston from 1856 to 1858, a member of the US House of Representatives for Massachusetts from 1859 to 1867 and as the 30th Governor of Massachusetts from 1876 to 1879, 3) Americus Vespucius Rice (1835-1904) who was a banker and businessman who was a Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a member of the US House of Representatives from Ohio from 1875 to 1879, 4) Benjamin Franklin Rice (1828-1905) who was a US Senator from Arkansas in 1868 to 1873 who was born in East Otto, New York, 5) Condoleeza Rice (1954) who was the 66th US Secretary of State from 2005-2009 and the 20th National Security Advisor from 2001-2005 during the George W. Bush presidential administration, born in Birmingham, Alabama, 6) Dan Rice (1823-1900) who was a famous American entertainer (primarily a clown) during the nineteenth century, a pioneer of pop culture and considered to be the father of the modern circus, born in New York City, 7) Delbert Rice Jr. (1922-1983) who was a professional baseball player born in Portsmouth, Ohio who played for five different teams (mainly the St. Louis Cardinals) in the MLB from 1945-1961, 8) Edmund Rice (1842-1906) who was a soldier in the US Army who received a Medal of Honor and became a Brigadier General, born in Cambridge, MA), 9) General Edward A. Rice Jr. (1955) was the 30th Commander of the Air Education Training Command (AETC) at Randolph Airforce Base in Texas, 10) Edmund Rice (1819-1889) who was a member of the US House of Representative from Minnesota who was born in Waitsfield, Vermont, 11) Elliot Warren Rice (1835-1887) who was a Union General during the American Civil War who served in the Atlanta Campaign, born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, 12) Florence Davenport Rice (1907-1974) who was a famous American film actress born in Cleveland, Ohio who whose filmography includes 46 movies during the 1930s and 1940s including Double Wedding, 13) Henry Mower Rice (1816-1894) who was a fur trader that became a Senator from Minnesota serving from 1858 to 1863, born in Waitsfield, Vermont, 14) Isaac Leopold Rice (1850-1915) who was a German-born Jewish American author, investor, businessman, and chess player who owned the Holland Torpedo Company, which became the Electric Boat Company, which became General Dynamics, 15) James Clay Rice (1828-1864) who was a brigadier general of volunteers in the Union Army during the Civil War who was born in Worthington, Massachusetts who was nicknamed Old Crazy, 16) Nathaniel Rice (1684-1753) who was an early colonial officer that served as Acting Governor of North Carolina (1734), 17) Norman Blann Rice (1943) who was the 49th Mayor of Seattle, Washington who served in the 1990s as the city's first African-American mayor, 18) Lieutenant General Leon Scott Rice who was the director of the Air National Guard, born in Bedford, New Hampshire, having served in the Kosovo, Gulf, and Iraq Wars, 19) Edward Charles Rice (1890-1974) who was a pitcher and right fielder who played in the MLB from 1915 to 1934 for the Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians, born in Morocco, Indiana, and 20) Steven Rice (1971) a hockey player in the NHL who played for four different teams including the Edmonton Oilers from 1990 to 2007, born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
Mount Trenchard House, Limerick, Ireland, ancestral seat oof the Rice family
Susanna Rice
credit: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
Catherine Rice
credit: Hereford Museum and Art Gallery
Reverend Edward Rice (1700–1792)
Edward Rice (1694–1727)
Griffith Rice (1670–1729)
Admiral Sir Ernest Rice (1840-1927)
Florence Davenport Rice (1907-1974), American film actress
Rice Coat of Arms Meaning
Three of the main heraldic symbols depicted within the Rice Coat of Arms (incorrectly referred to as the Rice Family Crest or Rice Family Shield) are the spearhead, raven, and chevron, each which have their own unique meaning.
Given the martial nature of the origins of heraldry, in the identification of knights and men-at-arms it can come as no surprise that medieval weaponry of all types are frequently to be found in a coat of arms. The spear or lance is a typical example, often borne (for obvious reasons) in allusion to the crucifixion. Sometimes only the head is shown, and on other occasions the tilting or tournament spear is specified, familiar to us from many a jousting scene in the movies. The spear head is similar to the pheon or arrow. It is said to symbolize or convey nimble wit, dexterity, or readiness to battle.
Birds of great variety occur throughout heraldry, at least in name. In truth, despite the proliferation of species, the actual depictions can sometimes be hard to distinguish! The crow, raven, rook and many older names are commonly to be found on a coat of arms but all tend to share the same appearance. Wade discusses the symbolism of the crow, disputing Sloane-Evans suggestion as an emblem of "long life" and preferring "a settled habitation and a quiet life" instead. The raven symbolizes prophecy, protection, and initiation. According to a blog called Meanderings and Wanderings, "The raven is known for its intelligence, wisdom and power of the mind. They are also known as secret keepers and messengers or oracles. This last description is largely due to the fact that the raven can be trained to speak. Ravens have also been known to use tools such as rocks to crack nuts. According to heraldric symbolism, the raven means divine providence. More specifically, in the Welsh tradition, the raven symbolizes healing, protection and the birth of new things. The Welsh hero Bran (which means crow or raven) was known for his infinite wisdom. He was the 'holder of ancestral memories.'* As the story goes, Bran's head (the source of his wisdom and according to Welsh tradition, the source of a person's soul) was severed from his body and buried on White Mount, or White Hill which is currently the location of the Tower of London. The Tower of London is home to a large group of ravens and English tradition states that something bad will happen if the ravens leave the tower. They left just before the bombing of London in WWII. The ravens were re-introduced after the war and have not left since."
The chevron is one the major shapes used upon a shield, known as ordinaries. The inverted 'V' of the chevron is perhaps thought to have originated to represent a military scarf folded on the shield, or additional cross-pieces used to strengthen the shield and painted a different color. It has also acquired the meaning of "Protection… granted… to one who has achieved some notable enterprise", possibly because of its resemblance to the roof truss of a house. In some cases, it was granted to individuals who constructed fortresses, churches, or other great structures or completed a work of faithful service.