Harmen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Ireland

It was among those Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled over Britain that the name Harmen was formed. The name was derived from Herman or Hermannus. 1 The names are really the same; it was a common practice for scribes to record a given name in the Latin style, where us is the masculine suffix. The personal name meant warrior having derived from the Old French word hermant, or from the Old German words hariman or hereman, all of which meant "warrior." 1

This name came to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest in 1066. However, not all of the family moved to England as Ralph, William, Richard and Hugh Herman were all listed in Normandy in 1180. 2

Early Origins of the Harmen family

The surname Harmen was first found in Norfolk where Willelmus Harmannus, who was listed in 1208 in the St. Benet of Holme (1020-1240), and is generally considered to be the first record of the name. Another branch was found in Sussex where William de Hermer was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of Sussex in 1207. Simone Haremere was listed in the Subsidy Rolls in Sussex in 1296, and later, William Harmere was listed in 1428. 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings using older spellings: Nicholas Herman in Suffolk; and Cecilia Hereman in Huntingdonshire.

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Thomas Herman and Ricardus Harman as residing there at that time. 3

Haremere Hall near Etchingham, East Sussex was home to this branch since the 12th century. By the 1600's the hall had fallen from their hands and was held by James Temple, one of the judges at the trial of King Charles I. Today it is now a Grade I listed Jacobean building and is still held in private hands.

Early History of the Harmen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harmen research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1101, 1440, 1480, 1535, 1547, 1549, 1567, 1621, 1640, 1646 and 1673 are included under the topic Early Harmen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harmen Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Harmen include Harman, Harmon, Harriman, Herman, Hernon, Hermanson, Harnum and many more.

Early Notables of the Harmen family

Distinguished members of the family include William Horman (c. 1440-1535), headmaster at Eton and Winchester, best known for his Latin grammar textbook the Vulgaria. He was born at Salisbury, and educated partly at Winchester. 4Thomas Harman (fl. 1567), was an English writer on beggars, grandson of Henry Harman, clerk of the crown under Henry VII, who obtained about 1480 the estates of Ellam and Maystreet in Kent. Thomas's father, William Harman, added to these estates the manor of Mayton or Maxton in the same county. As his father's heir, Thomas inherited all this...
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Harmen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Harmen family to Ireland

Some of the Harmen family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harmen migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Harmen were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Harmen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Barbary Harmen, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1805 5

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)