Fontain Surname History

Origins Available:
England
France

The history of the Fontain family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived near a spring or well which was in turn derived from the Old French word fontane, which means spring or well. Fontain is a topographic surname, which is a type of surname that was given to a person who resided near a landmark such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.

John Pherd (died 1225), Bishop of Ely, properly called John of Fountains, was a Cistercian monk of Fountains, and was chosen ninth abbot of his house in December 1211. 1

Early Origins of the Fontain family

The surname Fontain was first found in Norfolk at Harford, a parish, in the union of Swaffham, hundred of South Greenhoe.

"Narford Hall was built by Sir Andrew Fountaine, vice-chamberlain to Queen Caroline (consort of George II.), and the companion of Pope, Swift, and their literary society; he enriched the mansion with a collection of antiquities, paintings, and curiosities, which has been considerably increased by the present proprietor. In the reign of Edward III. Sir Thomas de Narford obtained for it a market and two fairs, long since fallen into disuse." 2

Early History of the Fontain family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fontain research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1430, 1460, 1471, 1554, 1572, 1591, 1600, 1608, 1659, 1660, 1671, 1676 and 1753 are included under the topic Early Fontain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fontain 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 Fountaine, Fountain, Fountayne, Fontain, Fontibus, Ffountain, Ffounteyn, Ffunteyn and many more.

Early Notables of the Fontain family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Andrew Fountaine (1676-1753), an English antiquarian, art collector and amateur architect. He was the eldest son of Andrew Fountaine, M.P., of Narford, Norfolk. 1 John Fountaine (1600-1671), the English jurist, was Commissioner of the great seal of England from (1659 to 1660). He was the son of Arthur Fountaine of Dalling, Norfolk. 1 Arthur Faunt, in religion Laurence Arthur (1554-1591), was an English Jesuit, born in...
Another 74 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fontain Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fontain 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 Fontain or a variant listed above were:

Fontain Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jacob Fontain, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1751 3
Theodor Jacob Fontain, who arrived in America in 1754 3

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)