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Ranson History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Ranson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Ranson was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Anglo-Norman given name Randolph. The name also derives from the Old English word randim, meaning riverbank, and indicates that the original bearer of the name live near such a geographic feature.

Early Origins of the Ranson family

The surname Ranson was first found in Suffolk where the name was derived from a place named Ransham, "though I find no place so called." 1 With regard to the more contemporary meaning of the word ransom, and continuing from this source, the author sites Mr. Ferguson "what curious changes, the whirligig of time brings round. We take our money to the descendant of the old sea-robber to take care of for us - Ramson & Co., bankers, Pal Mall. " 1

Early History of the Ranson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ranson research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ranson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ranson Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Ransom, Ransome, Ranson and others.

Early Notables of the Ranson family

More information is included under the topic Early Ranson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ranson Ranking

In the United States, the name Ranson is the 7,376^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Ranson is ranked the 4,557^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 3

Ranson migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Ranson or a variant listed above:

Ranson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Ranson, who settled in Virginia in 1635
Eliz Ranson, who arrived in Virginia in 1650 4
Jonas Ranson, who settled in New York in 1659
William Ranson, who arrived in Virginia in 1665 4
William Ranson, who landed in Maryland in 1670-1671 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Ranson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Ranson, aged 32, who arrived in Rhode Island in 1812 4

Ranson migration to Australia +

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

Ranson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Ranson, British Convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. William Ranson, British Convict who was convicted in Portalegre, Portugal for 14 years, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Charles Ranson, British convict who was convicted in Suffolk, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 29th September 1831, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. James Ranson, English convict who was convicted in Ipswich, Suffolk, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 10th August 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Edwin Ranson, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Childe Harold" in 1849 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Ranson (post 1700) +

Kyle C. Ranson, American former President and CEO of InFocus
Thomas Frazer Ranson (1784-1828), English line engraver, son of Thomas and Mary Ranson, born at Sunderland
John George "Jack" Ranson (1909-1992), English footballer who played from 1928 to 1936, father of John Mathew Ranson
Arthur James Ranson (b. 1939), English comic book illustrator, known for his work on Look-in, Anderson: Psi Division, Button Man and Mazeworld
John Matthew Ranson (b. 1938), former England international rugby union player
Raymond "Ray" Ranson (b. 1960), English entrepreneur
Trevor Ranson (b. 1912), Australian rules footballer
Paul Ranson (1864-1909), French painter and writer
Ranson Spaford, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Otsego County, 1834 9

Historic Events for the Ranson family +

RMS Titanic

Captain J. B. Ranson OBE (b. 1864), English commander of the White Star Line liners, captain of the RMS Baltic which rescued 1600 passengers and crew from the stricken liner RMS Republic and later he warned the RMS Titanic by radio that icebergs had been sighted 10

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1831
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 23rd August 2020 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CHILDE HAROLD 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849ChildeHarold.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html