Summerset Surname History

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Summerset reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Summerset family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Summerset family lived in the county of Somerset, to which their name is a reference.

Early Origins of the Summerset family

The surname Summerset was first found in Somerset where "this is one of the few instances of a surname having been borrowed from a title. Henry Beaufort, third Duke of Somerset (great-grandson of John of Gaunt), who was beheaded in 1463, for his adherence to the cause of King Henry Vi., left issue a natural son, Sir Charles Somerset, Knight of the Garter. He was elevated to the peerage, and his lineal descendant, Henry Marquis of Worcester, was created Duke of Beaufort in 1682. Thus in the same blood, the surname and the title have changed places, and instead of Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, we have Somerset, Duke of Beaufort." 1 Apart from this ironic twist of fate, we found the following in early rolls: Walter de Sumerset in Lincolnshire in 1206; John de Somersete in 1331 in Wiltshire; and Edmund Somerset in the Subsidy Rolls of Wiltshire in 1545. 2 William de Somersete was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 in Shropshire. 3

Early History of the Summerset family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Summerset research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1463, 1476, 1507, 1601, 1629, 1630, 1654, 1660, 1667, 1677, 1679, 1698, 1700 and 1715 are included under the topic Early Summerset History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Summerset 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 Somerset, Somersett, Sommerset and others.

Early Notables of the Summerset family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Elizabeth Somerset, 3rd Baroness Herbert (c.1476-1507), the sole heir and daughter of William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke; Viscount Somerset; Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester (1601-1667), an English nobleman involved in royalist politics, and an inventor; Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, KG, PC (1629-1700), an English politician who sat in the House of...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Summerset Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Summerset family to Ireland

Some of the Summerset 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.

Migration of the Summerset family

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 Summerset name or one of its variants: Richard Somersett who settled in Jamaica in 1663; William Somerset settled in Virginia in 1684; Robert Somerset arrived in Philadelphia in 1834.

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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)