Seyer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Seyer is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Seyer family lived in Essex. Their name, however, is a reference to St. Saire, Normandy, the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Alternatively, the name could have been a trade name for someone who was "an assayer of metals." 1 And another variation is that it could have been "an Anglo-Norman personal name, as Saher de Quincy, the famous Earl of Winchester." 1 There are at least three other listed origins of the name, but these latter three seem the most probable.

Early Origins of the Seyer family

The surname Seyer was first found in Essex where the family's first listing of the name was found during the reign of Edward II. 1 Omitting the entries as a personal name, we also found: Stephanus filius Seir (1148-1152) and ? filius Saheri (Saieri) c. 1160 in Lincolnshire.

Robertus filius Seer was listed in the 12th century in Nottinghamshire and Richard Sayer was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Devon in 1230. Thomas Sare and John Sayer were listed in the Feet of Fines of Essex in 1292. 2

The Thayer variant produced the Pilgrim Fathers and brothers Thomas Thayer (1596-1665) and Richard Thayer (1601-1664) who were born in Thornbury, Devon. The family were originally from Glastonbury, Somerset, the oldest found was John Tahyer, born c. 1450.

Early History of the Seyer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Seyer research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1560, 1602, 1603, 1625, 1631, 1655, 1695, 1705, 1718 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Seyer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Seyer Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Sayer, Sayers, Sayres and others.

Early Notables of the Seyer family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Robert Sayer or Seare (1560-1602), a Benedictine monk, born at Redgrave, Suffolk, the son of John Seare; Sir John Sayer of Bourchers Hall in Essex; and his son, George Sayer (c. 1655-1718), an English courtier and politician, Member of Parliament...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Seyer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Seyer family to Ireland

Some of the Seyer family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Seyer migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Seyer name or one of its variants:

Seyer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joseph Seyer, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1875 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Seyer (post 1700) +

Samuel Seyer (1757-1831), English historian of Bristol, the son of Samuel Seyer (1719?–1776), then master of Bristol grammar school

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)