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Munson History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Munson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Ireland

The name Munson was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Munson family lived in Kent. The name, however, is a reference to the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Moion, near St. Lo, Normandy, "where the site of their castle is still to be seen. Wace tells us that 'old William de Moion had with him many companions' and the battle of Hastings, and one of Leland's rolls of the Norman conquerors is nothing but a list of those who came in the train of 'Monseir William de Moion le Veil, le plus noble de tout l'ouste." 1

Early Origins of the Munson family

The surname Munson was first found in Kent where they held a family seat at Maidstone in that shire. They were descended from Guillaume (William) de Moyon a Norman Baron whose seat was at the castle of Moion, near St. Lo in Normandy. 2

William de Moyon received large grants of land in Somerset, the Lordship of Clehangre in Devon, and Sutton in Wiltshire. He also had grants in Kent. From William was descended the first Earl of Somerset, the Earls of Dorset and the Barons of Okehampton.

"At the period of the Conquest, this town [now called Minehead], then called Manheved, was given by William [the Conqueror] to William de Mohun." 3

Although the main stem of this very noble Norman family retained the various spellings of Munn or Munns, junior lines adopted the name Munson or Munnings. The same William de Mohun (Moyon) held estates in Dunster, Somerset.

"The town, which is called Torre in Domesday Book, owes its origin to a baronial castle built here by William de Mohun, a Norman Baron, on whom the Conqueror had bestowed large estates in this part of the kingdom. The castle, which was held by the family of Mohun till the reign of Edward III., was the scene of hostilities in the civil wars of the reigns of Stephen and John, and in the contests between the houses of York and Lancaster; the Marquess of Hertford, also, took possession of it for Charles I. during the war with the parliament." 3

"Rosteage, [in the parish of Gerrans, Cornwall] in the reign of Elizabeth, was the seat of Reginald Mohun, a captain under Sir Walter Raleigh. In this family it continued until the year 1662, when it was purchased by Nicholas Kempe, Esq." 4

Early History of the Munson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Munson research. Another 260 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1390, 1400, 1508, 1564, 1568, 1571, 1573, 1579, 1587, 1595, 1603, 1610, 1615, 1616, 1618, 1620, 1625, 1626, 1641, 1642, 1645, 1665, 1681, 1684, 1685, 1689, 1690, 1692, 1712, 1718 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Munson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Munson Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval 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. The name has been spelled Moyon, Moion, Mohun, Moyne, Munn, Munns, Munson, Munton, Mwn, Mun, Munds, Mouns, Muns, Munnes, Munnson, Munnsen, Munning and many more.

Early Notables of the Munson family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Reginald Mohun, 1st Baronet (ca.1603-1642), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1625 and 1626; John Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun of Okehampton (1595-1641), an English politician; Warwick Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun of Okehampton (1620-1665), an English politician; Michael Mohun (1616?-1684), a...
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Munson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Munson Ranking

In the United States, the name Munson is the 1,815^th most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Munson family to Ireland

Some of the Munson family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Munson migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Munson or a variant listed above:

Munson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Susan Munson, aged 25, who arrived in New England in 1634 aboard the ship "Elizabeth" 6
Miss Thomazin Munson, aged 14, who landed in Massachusetts Bay in 1635 aboard the ship "Blessing" 6
Thomas Munson, who landed at Hartford, Connecticut in 1637
T. Munson, who arrived in Boston in 1645
Jeffry Munson, who landed in Virginia in 1657 6

Munson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Munson, aged 28, who landed in New York in 1812 6
Thomas Munson, aged 30, who landed in New York in 1812 6
Catherine Munson, aged 25, who arrived in America in 1821 6
Charles Frederick Munson, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1847 6
H Munson, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1855 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Munson migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Munson Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Jerry Munson, who arrived in Canada in 1839

Munson migration to Australia +

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

Munson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Munson, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for life, transported aboard the "Chapman" on 6th April 1824, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Munson (post 1700) +

William H. Munson, American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Woodbury; Elected 1920 8
William D. Munson, American politician, First Selectman of Middlebury, Connecticut, 1904-07 8
Thomas H. Munson, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from East Windsor, 1934 8
Thomas H. Munson, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from East Windsor, 1902, 1904 8
Theodore E. Munson, American politician, U.S. Attorney for the 1st District of Alaska Territory, 1954-56 8
Stephen Munson, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from North Haven, 1820 8
Samuel Tilden Munson (1876-1961), American Democratic Party politician, Merchant; Member of New Jersey State Senate from Sussex County, 1913-18 8
Samuel Munson, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Barkhamsted, 1822-23, 1826 8
Samuel Lyman Munson (b. 1844), American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for New York, 1900; Presidential Elector for New York, 1900 8
Reuben Munson, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County, 1819-22 8
... (Another 31 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Munson Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Omnia vincit veritas
Motto Translation: Truth conquers all things.

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 26th January 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/chapman
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html