Ainger Surname History

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Ainger is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Ainger family lived in the area of Angers, Anjou France and is found there in charters in the Latinized form of Angevinus. 1

Early Origins of the Ainger family

The surname Ainger was first found in Essex, where Osmond Angevines held estates in 1086. 2 He and Wido Angevines were ancestors of a family which continued through to at least 1202 in the area. By 1165, some of the family had spread to Oxford, Surrey, York, and Norfolk. 3

In the Domesday "several of the name are found. The principal land-owner among them, who is supposed to have been of Breton origin, held considerable estates in Devonshire under Baldwin de Meules. A branch of Angers flourished at Carclew, from temp. Henry II. " 4

"Anger's Leigh in Somersetshire was held by the family from 1360 to 1427. John de Aunger served as knight of the shire for Leicester in three of Edward I.'s parliaments, and in the first held by Edward II. Josceline D'Aunger in 1169 witnessed the foundation charter of Lanercost Abbey, and Ralph de Angers in the thirteenth century held lands in Wilts. Ralph de Aungers was Sheriff of Notts, 49 and 50 Henry III. " 5

Lefuine Anger was listed in Suffolk in 1095 and Willelmus Angeri was recorded in Warwickshire in 1197. William filius Aunger was listed in Cambridgeshire in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 6

Early History of the Ainger family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ainger research. Another 247 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1280, 1300, 1500, 1558, 1605, 1632, 1639, 1640, 1655, 1660, 1669, 1677, 1700, 1702, 1706 and 1713 are included under the topic Early Ainger History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ainger Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Anger, Angier, Aunger, Angeri, Angear, Ainger and many more.

Early Notables of the Ainger family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Lefuine Anger, a prominent 11th century landholder in Suffolk; John Angier (1605-1677), an English nonconformist minister; and his nephew, Samuel...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ainger Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ainger family to Ireland

Some of the Ainger family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 121 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ainger migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Ainger or a variant listed above:

Ainger Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Joseph Ainger, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1684 7

Ainger Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert Ainger, who landed in Massachusetts in 1838 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Ainger (post 1700) +

Daniel Brainard Ainger (1844-1913), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan Republican State Central Committee, 1878, 1894; Postmaster at Washington, District of Columbia, 1880-82 8
Thomas Ainger (1799-1863), English clergyman, born on 1 Aug. 1799 at Whittlesea and educated at the Norwich grammar school and St. John's College, Cambridge 9
Alfred Ainger (1837-1904), English biographer
Mrs. Patricia Ainger B.E.M., British recipient of the British Empire Medal on 8th June 2018, for services to the community in Daventry, Northamptonshire 10
Nicholas Richard Ainger (b. 1949), British Labour Member of Parliament

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 1 of 3
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 17 Apr. 2019
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 31 October 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1