Mannor History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Mannor reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Mannor family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Mannor family lived in Mesnieres a small village in France near Roen and was "granted probably temp. Rollo (c. 846-c.932) to Mainer, a Viking ancestor. It was held as half a knight's fee temp. Philip Augustus by the Abbey of Lyre. The family of Mesnieres long continued in Normandy, Ralph and Roger de Mesieres being mentioned 1198 and William de Mesieres in 1232, whose descendants continued to be of consequence till c. 1400 when the male line ceased." 1 Another source confirms the probably Norman ancestry: "From Menoir, and that from the Latin Manere, to stay or to abide. Lands granted to some military man or Baron by the king, a custom brought in by the Normans." 2

Early Origins of the Mannor family

The surname Mannor was first found in Northumberland where Sir Robert Manners was one of the first on record, when he held land in Northumberland in 1165, and it is suggested that the village Mannor near Lanchester in neighboring Durham was named from the family. "According to Camden and other antiquaries, this noble family had their denomination from the village of Mannor, near Lanchester, co. Durham. They were certainly influential in the northern counties, and Collins traces the name to a William de Manner, who flourished temp. William Rufus. The pedigree is deduced by him from Sir Robert de Manners, lord of Etal in Northumberland, several generations anterior to the reign of Henry III." 3 The first Sir Robert de Manners born (c. 1038) was probably born in Ethdale, Northumberland. He is the progenitor of a long list of sons with the same name.

Early History of the Mannor family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mannor research. Another 157 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1324, 1327, 1340, 1488, 1525, 1543, 1559, 1587, 1588, 1604, 1638, 1640, 1641, 1676, 1679, 1696, 1697, 1703, 1711, 1721, 1772 and 1779 are included under the topic Early Mannor History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mannor Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Manners, Maners, Manner and others.

Early Notables of the Mannor family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Thomas Manners (c.1488-1543), son of the 12th Baron de Ros of Hamlake, who was created Earl of Rutland in 1525 - this was the second creation of this title, which has remained with the Manners, ever since; John Manners (c.1559-1588), the 4th Earl of Rutland and...
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mannor Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mannor migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Mannor name or one of its variants:

Mannor Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Mannor, who landed in Virginia in 1653 4

The Mannor 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: Pour y parvenir
Motto Translation: To accomplish it

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
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)