Contents [hide]

Uren History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Uren History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The notable Uren family arose among the Cornish People, a race with a rich Celtic heritage and an indomitable fighting spirit who inhabited the southwest of England. While surnames were well-known during the English medieval period, Cornish People originally used only a single name. The way in which hereditary surnames came into common use is interesting. As the population of medieval Europe multiplied, people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Under the Feudal System of government, surnames evolved and they often reflected life on the manor and in the field. Patronymic surnames were derived from given names and were the predominant type of surname among the Celtic peoples of Britain. However, the people of Cornwall provide a surprising exception to this rule, and patronymic surnames are less common among them than other people of Celtic stock, such as their Welsh neighbors. This is due to the greater influence of English bureaucracy and naming practices in Cornwall at the time that surnames first arose. This type of surname blended perfectly with the prevailing Feudal System. One feature that is occasionally found in Cornish surnames of this type is the suffix -oe or -ow; this is derived from the Cornish plural suffix -ow. is a patronymic surname that came from the ancient Cornish given name Urion or Urien, meaning town born. [1]

Early Origins of the Uren family

The surname Uren was first found in Cornwall, where they held a family seat from very ancient times at Trewarevra, and were descended from Driff in Cornwall. The original name was Trewren and Uren is an abbreviation thereof.

Urien (Urien Rheged or Uriens) was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom in northern England and southern Scotland. According to Arthurian legend, he became the "King Urien of Gorre" and his son Owain mab Urien was later known as Ywain. Known for his victories at the battle of Gwen Ystrad and Alt Clut Ford, the Brythonic poet Taliesin later celebrated his life in poems. [2]

In Staffordshire, we found an early entry as a forename: Urian de St. Pierrs in the Assize Rolls of 1272. In Yorkshire, William Urine was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1301 and in Gloucestershire, Robert Vryen was listed in 1459. [3]

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: John filius Urian, Huntingdonshire; and Uryene (without surname), Cambridgeshire. [4]

Early History of the Uren family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Uren research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1633, 1635, 1671, 1675, 1680, 1696, 1724, 1726 and 1731 are included under the topic Early Uren History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Uren Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Uren, Trewren, Hurin, Hurrion and others.

Early Notables of the Uren family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Thomas Trewren of Sancreed, last of an ancient line who held the manor house at Monkton.John Hurrion (1675?-1731), was an independent divine, descended from a Suffolk family and was trained for the ministry among the independents. About 1696 he succeeded William Bedbank at Denton in Norfolk. There he engaged in a controversy respecting the divinity of Christ with William Manning, the Socinian minister of Peasenhall, Suffolk. He removed...
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Uren Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Uren Ranking

In the United States, the name Uren is the 17,510^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [5]

Uren migration to the United States +

An examination into the immigration and passenger lists has discovered a number of people bearing the name Uren:

Uren Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Uren, who settled in Philadelphia in 1856
Mr. Frederick Uren, (b. 1863), aged 28, Cornish miner departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "City of Chicago" arriving in Colorado, USA on 4 May 1891 [6]

Uren migration to Australia +

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

Uren Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Ms. Ann Uren, (b. 1783), aged 24, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 22nd March 1806, sentenced for life for stealing a bill of exchange, transported aboard the ship "Sydney Cove" on 11th January 1807 to New South Wales, Australia [7]
Mr. John Uren, (b. 1778), aged 34, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 23rd March 1811, sentenced for 14 years for stealing horses, transported aboard the ship "Indefatigable" in May 1812 to New South Wales, Australia [7]
Mr. James Uren26 born in Gwennap, Cornwall, UK, transported aboard the ship "Augusta Jessie" on 1834 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia [8]
Richard Uren, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Buckinghamshire" in 1839 [9]
J. Uren, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "D'Auvergne" in 1839 [10]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Uren migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Uren Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas U'Ren, aged 27, a mason, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Roxburgh" in 1840 [11]
Margaret U'Ren, aged 30, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Roxburgh" in 1840 [11]
Robert Honos U'Ren, aged 2, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Roxburgh" in 1840 [11]
Harriet Gertrude U'Ren, aged 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Roxburgh" in 1840 [11]
Gertrude Wills U'Ren, aged under 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Roxburgh" in 1840 [11]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Uren (post 1700) +

Milton T. Uren, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1912 [12]
Annette U'Ren, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1996 [12]
Richard Uren (1926-2010), English rugby union player who represented the England national rugby union team four times, son of Harold Uren
Harold Uren (b. 1885), English footballer who played in the early 1900s
Clarrie Uren (b. 1900), former Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in 1924
Malcolm John Leggoe Uren (1900-1973), Australian journalist and editor of the Western Mail
Jeff Uren (1925-2007), British racing driver and race tuning expert, British Touring Car Champion in 1959
Thomas Uren AO (b. 1921), Australian politician, Minister in the Whitlam and Hawke Australian Labor Party governments, Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party
Reginald Uren, New Zealand Architect

Historic Events for the Uren family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. Thomas William James Uren (1900-1941), Australian Leading Steward from Hastings, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking [13]

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. William Uren, British Petty Officer, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking [14]

Citations +

Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/tasmanian_convicts_cornish.pdf
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Buckinghamshire.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) D'AUVERGNE 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839D'Auvergne.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html