Canner Surname History

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Canner family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in north Dorset and Cornwall area of England. The name is a reference to the family's tenure of residence in Caen, near Calvados, Normandy. The name is derived from the Old English word canne which literally means "a can or cup" but is used topographically to mean someone who lived in a hollow or deep valley. 1

Early Origins of the Canner family

The surname Canner was first found in north Dorset where Cann is a village and in 2001 had a population of 955. The Domesday Book lists Cann Orchard in what is now Cornwall, as land held by Aelfric, an undertenant of the Count of Mortain. At that time, there was land enough for two ploughs, two acres of woodland and ten acres of pasture. 2

Early History of the Canner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Canner research. Another 117 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1100 is included under the topic Early Canner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Canner Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Cann, Caen, Can and others.

Early Notables of the Canner family

More information is included under the topic Early Canner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Canner migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Canner or a variant listed above were:

Canner Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Canner, who landed in Maryland in 1668-1670 3

Canner migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Canner Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Aimess Canner, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Historic Events for the Canner family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. John Canner (d. 1912), aged 40, English Fireman/Stoker from Woolston, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 4

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html