Contents [hide]

Farmer History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Farmer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The surname Farmer is a ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is derived from the Old French "fermier." It is a name for a tax farmer, that is, someone who undertook the collection of taxes and tariffs. The name only refers secondarily to its present day meaning of one who worked cultivating land, growing produce or raising livestock, taking on this meaning only in the 17th century. In Ireland, Farmer was also a common Anglicization of the Irish Gaelic MacScollog.

Early Origins of the Farmer family

The surname Farmer was first found in Essex, where they had been granted lands by King William for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Farmer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Farmer research. Another 150 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1250, 1458, 1553, 1586 and 1619 are included under the topic Early Farmer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Farmer Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Farmer, Farmere, Farmers, Fermare and others.

Early Notables of the Farmer family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

A John Farmer in the late 16th century was an English composer of madrigals and church music...

Farmer World Ranking

In the United States, the name Farmer is the 357^th most popular surname with an estimated 74,610 people with that name. 1 However, in Australia, the name Farmer is ranked the 667^th most popular surname with an estimated 5,877 people with that name. 2 And in New Zealand, the name Farmer is the 735^th popular surname with an estimated 980 people with that name. 3 The United Kingdom ranks Farmer as 468^th with 13,938 people. 4

Migration of the Farmer family to Ireland

Some of the Farmer family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Farmer migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Farmer Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Farmer, aged 30, who arrived in Virginia in 1616 aboard the ship "Tryall/Triall" 5
Thomas Farmer, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 5
Charles Farmer, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 5
Henry Farmer, who landed in Virginia in 1623 5
John Farmer, who landed in Virginia in 1639 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Farmer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Farmer, who landed in Virginia in 1701 5
Richard Farmer, who landed in Virginia in 1702 5
Mary Farmer, who landed in Virginia in 1706 5
Thomas Farmer, aged 36, who arrived in New York in 1710 5
Jeffry Farmer, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1712 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Farmer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry T Farmer, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1807 5
Thomas Farmer, aged 30, who landed in Massachusetts in 1812 5
John Farmer, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 5
Francis Ford Farmer, who arrived in New York in 1820 5
Francis Ford Mahon Farmer, who landed in New York in 1820 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Farmer Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mrs. Bessie F. Farmer, (b. 1865), aged 40, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Oceanic" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Grand Encampment, Wyoming, USA 6
Mr. James Thomas Farmer, (b. 1878), aged 27, Cornish gardener travelling aboard the ship "Celtic" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Everett, Washington, USA 6

Farmer migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Farmer Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mr. John Farmer, aged 40 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Larch" departing 11th July 1847 from Sligo, Ireland; the ship arrived on 20th August 1847 but he died on board 7

Farmer migration to Australia +

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

Farmer Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Richard Farmer, a tailor, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
James Farmer, English convict from Kent, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on September 21, 1826, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. James Farmer, English convict who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 25th June 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Henry Farmer, (b. 1815), aged 15, English coal miner who was convicted in Staffordshire, England for life for house breaking, transported aboard the "Florentia" on 11th August 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1878 10
Thomas Farmer, English convict from Sussex, who was transported aboard the "Argyle" on March 5th, 1831, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Farmer 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:

Farmer Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Farmer, aged 41, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
Mary Farmer, aged 33, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
John Farmer, aged 16, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
Jesse Farmer, aged 12, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
James Farmer, aged 11, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Farmer migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 12

Farmer Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Tho Farmer, aged 22, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 5
Mr. John Farmer, aged 24 who arrived in St. Kitts (St Christopher) aboard the ship "Amity" in 1635 5
Mr. John Farmer, (b. 1613), aged 22, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Peter Bonaventure" arriving in Barbados and St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 13
Miss Elizabeth Farmer, (b. 1615), aged 20, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Alexander" arriving in Barbados in 1635 14

Contemporary Notables of the name Farmer (post 1700) +

Paul Edward Farmer (1959-2022), American medical anthropologist and physician from Harvard University where he was the Kolokotrones University Professor and the chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, co-founder and chief strategist of Partners In Health (PIH)
Steven O. Farmer (1948-2020), American guitarist, composer and lyricist, best known for his composition with Ted Nugent in 1968, "Journey to the Center of the Mind"
Fannie Merritt Farmer (1857-1915), American cook and cookbook author known for introducing the concept of using standardized measuring spoons and cups, as well as level measurement; she opened her cooking school in Boston on August 23, 1902
Frank O. Farmer (1924-2014), American author and writer
Brigadier-General Archie Arrington Farmer (1892-1963), American Commanding Officer Philadelphia Signal Depot (1941-1942) 15
Frances Elena Farmer (1913-1970), American actress of stage and scree
James L. Farmer Jr (1920-1999), Civil rights activist, a leader of the American civil rights movement of the 1940s, '50s and '60s and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Philip José Farmer (1918-2009), American author known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories
J. Doyne Farmer (b. 1952), American physicist and entrepreneur
Richard "Kirk" Farmer (b. 1973), American singer, songwriter and guitarist
... (Another 69 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Farmer family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Albert V Farmer (b. 1919), English Leading Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Westbourne, Hampshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 16

HMS Repulse

Mr. Donald Ogilvy Farmer, English Ships Writer from Plymouth, England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 17

HMS Royal Oak

Harry Farmer, British Leading Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 18

Monongah Mine

Mr. Charles Farmer (b. 1871), African American coal miner who was in mine 8 at the Monongah mine on 6th December 1907 when it exploded and collapsed; he died 19
Mr. Richard Farmer (b. 1855), African American coal miner who was in mine 8 at the Monongah mine on 6th December 1907 when it exploded and collapsed; he died 19

USS Arizona

Mr. John Wilson Farmer, American Coxswain from Tennessee, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 20

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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
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. 75)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1826 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1826
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/florentia
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Argyle voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1831 with 251 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/argyle/1831
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's. Retrieved 23rd September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 28th September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, February 29) Archie Farmer. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Farmer/Archie_Arrington/USA.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.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
Monongah Mining Disaster retrieved on 8th August 2021. (Retrieved fromhttps://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/monongah.htm).
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html