Son History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Son family

The surname Son was first found in Suffolk where Earl Soham dates back to the Domesday Book 1 as lands held by Count Alan. At that time a manor was listed on four carucates of land. Some of the family remained in Normandy as Radulphus Sone was listed there in a census conducted 1180-95. 2

The same census also listed a R. Sone or Sonne in 1198. The name literally means " homestead by the pool" when translated from the Old English sae + ham.

Soham is also a small town in Cambridgeshire that has a similar lineage that dates back to before the Domesday Book. For it is here that Saegham was listed c. 1100.3

But the name dates back further; Luttingus, a Saxon nobleman built a cathedral and palace at Soham around 900 AD, on the site of the present day Church of St. Andrews.

Early History of the Son family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Son research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1540, 1575, 1584, 1598, 1601, 1619, 1640, 1648, 1671 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Son History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Son Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Son were recorded, including Soam, Soams, Soames, Somes, Soame, Soan, Soanes and others.

Early Notables of the Son family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Stephen Soame (c.1540-1619), an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601, Lord Mayor of London in 1598; Sir Peter Soam, Lord of the Manor of Berkesden, county Suffolk; Sir Thomas Soame (1584-1671), an English politician who sat...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Son Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Son Ranking

In the United States, the name Son is the 7,122^nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Son migration to the United States +

The unstable environment in England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like Ireland, Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Son arrived in North America very early:

Son Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

And son, who arrived in Virginia in 1648 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Son (post 1700) +

Mable Son, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Colorado, 1956 6
Herman Son Winningham (b. 1961), American former Major League Baseball player from Orangeburg, South Carolina
Son Bonds (1909-1947), American country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
"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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html