Lamer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
England

The name Lamer was originally "De La Mare, from the great fief of La Mare, near St. Opportune, in the comune of Autretot, Normandy; where their castle was built upon piles on the margin of the lake still called Grande-mare." 1

One source claims the name was derived from the Old French word "marre," meaning "a ram."

Early Origins of the Lamer family

The surname Lamer was first found in Normandy where "Sire de la Mare is one of the Norman nobles enumerated by Wace at the battle of Hastings; and the family became very numerous both in Normandy and England. Sir William de la Mare, and his lands in the valley of La Mare, are mentioned in a charter of St. Louis, dated 1259; and as many as nine Sires de La Mare (almost all of them bearing different arms) are entered on the roll of "Gentilshommes de la Normandie" given in the Nobiliaire." 1

The ancestor of the English families, Norman de La Mare, lived c. 1030 and Hugo de La Mare occurs in the Breton charter in 1070. This was one of his sons, of whom four went to England at the Conquest. 2

William de Mare was an undertenant in Wiltshire and Herefordshire according to the Domesday Book of 1086. 3

Early History of the Lamer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lamer research. Another 302 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1375, 1383, 1384, 1388, 1391, 1397, 1585, 1610, 1629, 1637, 1653, 1660, 1674, 1680, 1712 and 1738 are included under the topic Early Lamer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lamer Spelling Variations

There were a great number of spelling variations in French surnames. One reason for this was the wide variety of cultural influences present in France during the early development of the French language. The many spelling variations of the name include Marre, Marres, Mar, La Marre, La Mare, La Marres, La Mares, La Mar, Maur, Maure, Maures, Maurre, Maurres, More, Mores, Morre, Mars, Maurs, Moure, Mourre, Merre, Mer, Mere and many more.

Early Notables of the Lamer family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

Thomas Lamer (died 1397), of Dorchester (Dorset) and London was an English politician...
He was either born in France or had a French connection as in February 1375, it was found that Lamer had exported wheat to Bordeaux...

Lamer migration to the United States +

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Lamer has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Lamer were

Lamer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Dominique Lamer, who settled in Atlanta in 1848
Dominique Lamer, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1848 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Lamer (post 1700) +

Charles Pierre de Lamer, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 5
Right Honourable Antonio Lamer (1933-2007), Canadian jurist, 16th Chief Justice of Canada (1990-2000), Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (1980-1990)

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
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)
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)
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 27) Charles Lamer. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html