This is one of the most famous surnames of the 20th century. In the period of the 1930's it was internationaly known through the famous cricketer and for many, the worlds fastest bowler, the late Harold Larwood. The expoits of Larwood brought on a constitutional crisis between Australia and Great Britain which nearly lead to a complete severing of relations, although Larwood himself was the victim of the 'win at all cost' attitude of his superiors. The name is locational from a now 'lost' medieval village called Larwood believed to have been in East Anglia. The name translates as 'Clay wood' from the Viking word 'leir' meaning clay soil. Lost villages are a feature of the British Isles, and it has been estimated that at least three thousand surnames originate from places whose only public memory is the surname itself. The first known recording is believed to be that of Geoffrey de Larwode in the register of ancient deeds for the city of Norwich in the year 1299.