Contents [hide]

Hearn History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Hearn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The distinguished English surname Hearn comes from several different origins. Firstly, it is derived from the Old English "hyrne," meaning "nook, corner;" in this instance, the name would have been originally borne by someone who lived in a corner residence.

Alternatively, the name may be derived from a place name; there is a town called Herne in Kent and a Hirn in Hampshire, and the progenitor of the name may have hailed from one of these towns. Finally, the name may be a variant of the surname Heron.

Early Origins of the Hearn family

The surname Hearn was first found in Dorset at Hurn, village and civil parish that dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed as Herne. 1

Literally the place name means "place at the angle or corner of land," from the Old English word "hyrne." 2

Holbeach Hurn is a small fenland village in the South Holland district of southern Lincolnshire and Hurn is a tything, in the parish, union, and hundred of Christchurch, Ringwood in the county of Southampton. 3

The first record of the family was found in Hampshire where Gunnora de la Hurn was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1212. Later Walter Atehurne was registered in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1267 and later again, Henry en le Hurne was registered in the Hundredorum Rolls for Berkshire in 1279. 4

In Oxfordshire Ralph in pe Hurne was registered there in 1279 and later, William del Herne was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 4

Early History of the Hearn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hearn research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1212, 1267, 1279, 1327, 1524, 1610, 1611, 1620, 1644, 1670, 1678, 1710, 1711, 1722, 1735 and 1760 are included under the topic Early Hearn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hearn Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hearn family name include Hern, Herne, Hearn, Hearne, Hurn, Hurne, Harn and others.

Early Notables of the Hearn family

Notables of the family at this time include

Thomas Hearne or Hearn (1678-1735), was an English antiquary from Berkshire. He was the son of George Hearne, parish clerk from 1670 of White Waltham in Berkshire, and Edith, his wife, daughter of Tho...
Erasmus Hearne (c.1760), was a well-known English writer

Hearn Ranking

In the United States, the name Hearn is the 1,807^th most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 5 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Hearn is ranked the 305^th most popular surname with an estimated 149 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Hearn family to Ireland

Some of the Hearn family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hearn migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Hearn surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Hearn Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Bednego Hearn, who landed in Maryland in 1680 7

Hearn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Edmund Hearn, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1763 7

Hearn Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Hearn, who arrived in New York, NY in 1810 7
Isadore Hearn, who landed in Mobile County, Ala in 1850 7
Mary Hearn, aged 26, who arrived in New York, NY in 1855 7
Anne Hearn, aged 2, who landed in New York, NY in 1855 7
Mathew A Hearn, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1856 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hearn Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. James Hearn, (b. 1870), aged 35, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "Philadelphia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to New York, USA 8

Hearn migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hearn Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Maurice Hearn, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1750
James Hearn from Carrick on Suir in county Tipperary settled in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, in 1798 9

Hearn Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mr. David Hearn, aged 25 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Avon" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle In September 1847 10

Hearn migration to Australia +

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

Hearn Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Uriah Richard Hearn, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "John" in 1840 11
Sarah Hearn, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "John" in 1840 11
Andrew Richard Hearn, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "John" in 1840 11
Richard William Hearn, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "John" in 1840 11
Charlotte Hearn, aged 19, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "William Money" 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hearn 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:

Hearn Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Hearn, aged 15, a carpenter, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857

Contemporary Notables of the name Hearn (post 1700) +

Joyce C. Hearn (1929-2021), née Camp, an American politician, Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives (1975-1990)
William H. Hearn, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1932 13
W. D. Hearn, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Gold Democrat National Convention from Arkansas, 1896 13
Richard Francis Hearn, American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Erie County 5th District, 1910-14 13
Raymond Hearn, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1952 13
Murray Hearn, American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Kings County 2nd District, 1924-29; Justice of New York Supreme Court 2nd District, 1948-53 13
James F. Hearn, American Republican politician, Mayor of Wilmington, Delaware, 1949-53 13
H. P. Hearn, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi, 1940 13
Bobby E. Hearn Jr., American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Texas State House of Representatives 99th District, 2002 13
Billy Ray Hearn (1929-2015), American founder and chairman of the Capitol Christian Music Group, the world's largest religious music label
... (Another 18 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Hearn family +

HMS Royal Oak

James V. Hearn, British Crew member with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 14

SS Newfoundland

Mr. Patrick Hearn, Newfoundlander from St. John's, who on the 30th March 1914 he was part of the Seal Crew of the "SS Newfoundland" leaving the ship to intercept the Stephano which took him to the hunting grounds, he disembarked to begin sealing, but was caught in a thickening storm, attempting to return to the Newfoundland he and the 132 crew made camp for two days the sealers were stranded on the ice in a blizzard attempting to return to the ship, he survived

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
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 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 33)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) JOHN from London 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840John.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) "WILLIAM MONEY" 1848-49. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849WmMoney.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html