Stanart History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Stanart was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Old English personal name Stanehard, meaning stone hard.

Early Origins of the Stanart family

The surname Stanart was first found in Suffolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, Stanard, Stannard, Stanhard, Stanhert all appear in the Domesday Book as tenants of properties in Bury St Edmunds. 34 Knights were registered to the town.

Early History of the Stanart family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stanart research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1222, 1327 and 1450 are included under the topic Early Stanart History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stanart Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Stannard, Stanard, Stanhert, Stanart, Stanhart, Stonhard, Stonnard, Stonard, Stonerd, Stannert and many more.

Early Notables of the Stanart family

More information is included under the topic Early Stanart Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Stanart family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Stanart or a variant listed above were: William Stannerd settled in Virginia in 1652; Joseph Stannard settled in Virginia in 1695; Thomas Stannard settled in Nova Scotia in 1750; Lewis Stannert settled in Pennsylvania in 1771.

Contemporary Notables of the name Stanart (post 1700) +

Stan Stanart (b. 1956), American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Texas, 2000; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 2004, 2008, 2012 2
Gail Stanart, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 2008 2

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html