Show ContentsSessoms History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Sessoms is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Sessoms family lived in Gloucestershire, at the manor of Siston, from whence their name was derived.

Early Origins of the Sessoms family

The surname Sessoms was first found in Gloucestershire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Siston, held at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book, a survey of England taken by Duke William of Normandy after his conquest of England in Hastings in 1066 A.D. In this survey the village of Siston was held by Roger de Berkeley. Conjecturally they were descended from Roger, and as it was the tradition of Norman families, the second or third son usually adopted the name of his manor or lands.

Early History of the Sessoms family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sessoms research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1661, 1690, 1720, 1749 and 1783 are included under the topic Early Sessoms History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sessoms Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Siston, Sistons, Syston, Sistun, Systun, Sisson, Sissons, Sysun, Sisun, Sissun, Sison, Sisons, Syson, Sysson, Session, Sesion and many more.

Early Notables of the Sessoms family

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

Sessoms Ranking

In the United States, the name Sessoms is the 5,386th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Ireland Migration of the Sessoms family to Ireland

Some of the Sessoms family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Sessoms migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Sessoms or a variant listed above:

Sessoms Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Nicholas Sessoms, who landed in Virginia in 1710 2
Sessoms Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Ruth Sessoms, aged 24, who landed in America, in 1924
  • Ruth Lillian Sessoms, aged 25, who immigrated to the United States, in 1924
  • Susan Tring Sessoms, aged 50, who settled in America, in 1924

Contemporary Notables of the name Sessoms (post 1700) +

  • Petey Sessoms (b. 1972), former American expatriate professional basketball player
  • William D. "Will" Sessoms Jr. (b. 1954), American politician, current mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)


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