Contents [hide]

Harmon History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Harmon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Harmon is one of the oldest family names to come from the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is 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 Harmon family

The surname Harmon 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 Harmon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harmon 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 Harmon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harmon Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Harmon has undergone many spelling variations, including Harman, Harmon, Harriman, Herman, Hernon, Hermanson, Harnum and many more.

Early Notables of the Harmon 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 Harmon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harmon Ranking

In the United States, the name Harmon is the 364^th most popular surname with an estimated 74,610 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Harmon family to Ireland

Some of the Harmon 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.

Harmon migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Harmon were among those contributors:

Harmon Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Francis Harmon, (Harman), aged 43, who landed in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Love"
John Harmon, who settled in Virginia in 1637
William Harmon, who landed in Virginia in 1648 6
George Harmon, who landed in Maryland in 1651 6
Absalom Harmon, who arrived in Maryland in 1653 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Harmon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Isabella Harmon, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 6
Henry Harmon, who arrived in Virginia in 1713 6
Hance Peter Harmon, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 6
Barbara Harmon, aged 8, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 6
Dewald Harmon, aged 13, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Harmon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Philip Harmon, who arrived in New York, NY in 1818 6
Thomas Harmon, who arrived in Maryland in 1824 6
Peter H Harmon, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1824 6
Jacob Harmon, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
Cynthia Harmon, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Harmon migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Harmon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Emily Harmon, (Williams), (b. 1828), aged 22, English needle woman who was convicted in Manchester, Greater Manchester, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 25th October 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7

Harmon migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Harmon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Harmon, who landed in Nelson, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Indus

Contemporary Notables of the name Harmon (post 1700) +

Thomas Mark Harmon (b. 1951), American football player and two-time Primetime Emmy and four-time Golden Globe nominated actor, probably best known for his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in television show NCIS
Major-General Ernest Nason Harmon (1894-1974), American Deputy Commander in Chief Army Ground Forces (1947-1948), eponym of Ernest Harmon Air Force Base, a former United States Air Force base located in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador. 8
Marie Harmon (1923-2021), American actress in the 1940s during the Golden Age of Hollywood.and businesswoman
Elise Frances Harmon (1909-1985), American physicist, chemist, and influential contributor to the miniaturization of computers
Elaine D. Harmon (1919-2015), American pilot who served in the U.S. Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II, awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her service as a pilot during World War II in 2009
Daniel Williams Harmon (1778-1843), American-born, Canadian fur trader and diarist
Charles Byron Harmon (b. 1924), American former professional baseball utility player in Major League Baseball
Eugene Claude Harmon Sr., (1916-1989), American professional golfer and golf instructor
Claude "Butch" Harmon Jr., (b. 1943), American golf instructor and former professional player
Larry L. Harmon (1941-2016), American soccer coach and soccer advocate
... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Harmon family +

Fraterville mine

Mr. Powell Harmon (d. 1902), American coal miner at Fraterville mine in Tennessee, on the 19th May 1902 when an explosion collapsed the mine; he died 9

USS Arizona

Mr. William D. Harmon, American Private First Class from Oregon, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 10

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
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, March 9) Ernest Harmon. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Harmon/Ernest_Nason/USA.html
News paper article Fraterville Mine Disaster retrieved on 6th August 2021. (Retrieved from http://www.tn.gov/tsla/exhibits/disasters/fraterville.htm).
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html