Rymoor History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The ancient name of Rymoor finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a person who had the gift of poetry as in "the ryhmer, poet versifier, singer" 1 and as such came from a variety of places throughout the United Kingdom.

Probably the most famous of the name in early records was Thomas of Erceldoune, sometimes styled Thomas Learmonth (fl. c. 1220-1298), a Scottish laird in Berwickshire and reputed prophet who was known by the sobriquets Thomas the Rhymer or True Thomas. 2

According to tradition, Thomas the Rhymer, was carried off by the "Queen of Elfland" and returned having gained the gift of prophecy, as well as the inability to tell a lie. The story appears in at least five manuscripts and as the protagonist in the popular ballad "Thomas the Rhymer."

The name denoted "doubtless a person skilled in making verses, like the far-famed Scotchman, Thomas the Rhymer. King Henry II. kept a court poet, or poet-laureate, called Master Henry the Versifier, and paid him one hundred shillings per annum for his poesy. Still earlier, Henry I. had a bard who wrote laudatory verses about his master, and was called Walo Versificator." 3

Early Origins of the Rymoor family

The surname Rymoor was first found in Suffolk and Berwick, Scotland. Early rolls list Warin Rymer in Yorkshire in 1229; and Richard le Rimour in Lancashire in 1277. 4

"The Rymers of Chepstow and its vicinity are probably connected with a family of clothiers, called Rimer, who lived in Minchin Hampton early last century." 5

Early History of the Rymoor family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rymoor research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1641, 1643, 1663 and 1713 are included under the topic Early Rymoor History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rymoor 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 Rymoor family name include Rymour, Rymer, Rymor, Rhymer and others.

Early Notables of the Rymoor family

Distinguished members of the family include Ralph Rymer, Lord of the Manor of Brafferton in Yorkshire, executed for his part in the Farnley Wood Plot of 1663; and his son, Thomas Rymer (1641-1713), English, writer, critic, historiographer...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rymoor Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Rymoor family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Rymoor surname or a spelling variation of the name include : George Rymer settled in New England in 1772; Martha Rymer settled with her husband in Rapahanock in Virginia in 1729.

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.