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Hern History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Hern History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The distinguished English surname Hern comes from several different origins. Firstly, it is derived from the Old English "hyrne," meaning "nook, corner;" in this instance, the name would have been originally borne by someone who lived in a corner residence.

Alternatively, the name may be derived from a place name; there is a town called Herne in Kent and a Hirn in Hampshire, and the progenitor of the name may have hailed from one of these towns. Finally, the name may be a variant of the surname Heron.

Early Origins of the Hern family

The surname Hern was first found in Dorset at Hurn, village and civil parish that dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed as Herne. 1

Literally the place name means "place at the angle or corner of land," from the Old English word "hyrne." 2

Holbeach Hurn is a small fenland village in the South Holland district of southern Lincolnshire and Hurn is a tything, in the parish, union, and hundred of Christchurch, Ringwood in the county of Southampton. 3

The first record of the family was found in Hampshire where Gunnora de la Hurn was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1212. Later Walter Atehurne was registered in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1267 and later again, Henry en le Hurne was registered in the Hundredorum Rolls for Berkshire in 1279. 4

In Oxfordshire Ralph in pe Hurne was registered there in 1279 and later, William del Herne was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 4

Early History of the Hern family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hern research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1212, 1267, 1279, 1327, 1524, 1610, 1611, 1620, 1644, 1670, 1678, 1710, 1711, 1722, 1735 and 1760 are included under the topic Early Hern History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hern Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Hern include Hern, Herne, Hearn, Hearne, Hurn, Hurne, Harn and others.

Early Notables of the Hern family

Notables of the family at this time include

Thomas Herne or Haveringland, sheriff of Norfolk who was ennobled in 1620
John Herne (fl. 1644), was an English lawyer, admitted a student at Lincoln's Inn on 21 Jan. 1610-1611, and was afterwards called to the bar there. 5
Thomas Herne (d. 1722), was a controversialist, a native of Suffolk who was admitted as a pensioner at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, on 29 Oct. 1711. 5

Hern Ranking

In the United States, the name Hern is the 11,215^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Hern family to Ireland

Some of the Hern family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hern migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled 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 ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Hern or a variant listed above:

Hern Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

David Hern, who arrived in Virginia in 1704 7

Hern Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Hern, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1815 7
William Hern, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1830 7
Bridt Hern, aged 18, who landed in New York in 1854 7
Bartholomew Hern, who arrived in St Clair County, Illinois in 1872 7

Hern migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hern Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Morris Hern, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Hern migration to Australia +

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

Hern Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Hern, British Convict who was convicted in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Dudbrook" on 17th November 1852, arriving in Western Australia 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Hern (post 1700) +

Pepe Hern (1927-2009), stage name of José "Pepe" Hernández Bethencourt, an American actor who played supporting roles in nearly 50 films, brother of actor Tom Hernández
Warren Martin Hern M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D. (b. 1938), American physician, known for performing late-term abortions, founding member of the National Abortion Federation
William Richard "Dick" Hern CVO (1921-2002), English Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, his horses won sixteen British Classic Races from 1962 to 1995, he was Champion Trainer on four occasions
Matt Hern (b. 1968), Canadian community organizer, writer and activist
William Milton "Riley" Hern (1880-1929), Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played from 1898 to 1911
Tom Hern (b. 1984), New Zealand multiple award winning actor and film producer, known for The Tribe (1999), Power Rangers DinoThunder (2004) and Revelations (2002)
Nick Hern, British founder of Nick Hern Books, a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays in 1988

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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 23rd July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dudbrook