Ember History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The illustrious surname Ember finds its origin in the rocky, sea swept coastal area of southwestern England known as Cornwall. Although surnames were fairly widespread in medieval England, people were originally known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted is extremely interesting. As populations grew, 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. Lords and their tenants often became known by the name of the feudal territory they owned or lived on. Unlike most Celtic peoples, who favored patronymic names, the Cornish predominantly used local surnames. This was due to the heavy political and cultural influence of the English upon the Cornish People at the time that surnames first came into use. Local surnames were derived from where a person lived, held land, or was born. While many Cornish surnames of this sort appear to be topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees, many are actually habitation surnames derived from lost or unrecorded place names. The name Ember is a local type of surname and the Ember family lived at the town of Embrough in Devon. The name is also classified as a baptismal name as in the son of Emery.

Early Origins of the Ember family

The surname Ember was first found in Devon where they held a family seat from very early times.

Early History of the Ember family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ember research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1258, 1300, 1363 and 1379 are included under the topic Early Ember History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ember 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 Embree, Embray, Embury, Embrey and others.

Early Notables of the Ember family

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

Ember migration to the United States +

An investigation of the immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Ember:

Ember Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Ember, who arrived in Virginia in 1622 1
Jane Ember, who landed in Maryland in 1664 1

Ember migration to Australia +

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

Ember Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Ember(b. 1771), aged 51, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 20th August 1821, sentenced for 7 years for stealing 2 silver spoons and 10 shillings, transported aboard the ship "Phoenix" in November 1821 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia 2
Mr. John Ember, (b. 1770), aged 51 born in Launceston, Cornwall, UK convicted in Cornwall on 20th August 1821, sentenced for 7 years for stealing spoons and money, transported aboard the ship "Phoenix" in 1822 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Ember (post 1700) +

Ember D. Reichgott, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Minnesota, 1984 4

Citations +

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)
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
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html