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When the Strongbownians arrived in Ireland, they encountered an established an Irish system for creating hereditary surnames. However, like the Irish, the Anglo-Norman Strongbownians frequently had patronymic surnames, a form of surname that was formed from the name of the bearer's father, or another older relative. Therefore, since the Strongbownians' system was in many ways built on the same principles as the Irish, the two systems eventually attained a sort of merger. Therefore, since the Strongbownians' names often had Norman names which were French, diminutive suffixes, such as -ot, -et, -un, -in, or -el were added to the name of the bearer's father, or older relative. Another Norman way of creating a patronymic name was to use the prefix Fitz-, which was derived from the French word fils, and ultimately from the Latin filius, both of which mean son. The surname Aylmer is derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name Ædelmær, which literally means "noble, famous." The Gaelic form of the surname Aylmer is Aighlmear.
The surname Aylmer was first found in Essex, where they were tenants in chief and Lords of the manor of Aylmer.
"This family trace their name and descent from Ailmer or Athelmare, Earl of Cornwall, in the time of King Ethelred. Allmor, in Welsh, signifies a valley or dale." 1
"This Anglo-Saxon name came to Ireland after the Norman invasion and, settling in Leinster, families so called became hibernicized." 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aylmer research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1650, 1678 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Aylmer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name Aylmer revealed many spelling variations including Ailmer, Aylmer, Elmer, Elmore, Ellmore, Ellmer and others.
Notable amongst the family up to this time was
During the middle of the 19th century, Irish families often experienced extreme poverty and racial discrimination in their own homeland under English rule. Record numbers died of disease and starvation and many others, deciding against such a fate, boarded ships bound for North America. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Unfortunately, many of those Irish that arrived in Canada or the United States still experienced economic and racial discrimination. Although often maligned, these Irish people were essential to the rapid development of these countries because they provided the cheap labor required for the many canals, roads, railways, and other projects required for strong national infrastructures. Eventually the Irish went on to make contributions in the less backbreaking and more intellectual arenas of commerce, education, and the arts. Research early immigration and passenger lists revealed many early immigrants bearing the name Aylmer: