Greenant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Greenant belongs to the early history of Britain, it's origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of their having lived in the chapelry of Greeham in the parish of Thatcham in the county of Berkshire. The place-name is derived from the Old English Greenham, which refers to either a green river-bed or a green homestead. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Greenham, a tything, in the parish of Ashbrittle, union of Wellington, hundred of Milverton in Somerset. 2

Greenan Castle is a 16th century tower house, around 2.5 miles south-west of Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland

Early Origins of the Greenant family

The surname Greenant was first found in Somerset, where Simon de Gryndham was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1268. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Ralph de Greneham, Suffolk and Ralph de Grenham was also listed in Suffolk, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III. 4

Early History of the Greenant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Greenant research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1535, 1559, 1564, 1567, 1594 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Greenant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greenant Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Greenant include Greenham, Greenam, Greenum and others.

Early Notables of the Greenant family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Ralph Greenham of Suffolk; and Richard Greenham or Grenham (1535?-1594), an early Puritan Minister, at Dry Drayton, Cambridgeshire. He "was probably born about 1535, and went at an...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Greenant Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Greenant family to Ireland

Some of the Greenant 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.

Migration of the Greenant family

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Greenant were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Richard Greenham who settled in New England in 1768.

Citations +

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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)