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The name Fennimore is of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was name for a person who was perceived to be splendid and very likable. The surname is derived from the Old French words fin, a nickname for a very elegant man and amour, which is means love.
The surname Fennimore was first found in Devonshire where "Sir Gilbert Finemer or Finemore held half a knight's fee of the Honour of Clare, temp. Henry II.; and bore the red chevrons of his suzerain on a field of ermine. The name is also found at Hinksey in Berkshire; and in the church of St. Lawrence at Reading there is a monument to the memory of one of this family, with the following quaint inscription: 'Under they feet, reader, lie the remains of Richard Fynemore, his father's Benjamin, and his brother's Joseph; who coming from Oxon to the burial of a friend, found here his own grave, 1664.' The manor of Tingewick in Buckinghamshire was given in 1210 by this family to the monastery de Monet Rothomago in Normandy. It had passed to them from the Lacys before the reign of Henry III. They probably gave their name to the neighbouring village of Finmore in Oxfordshire. Hugh de Finemer was Vicar of Shabbington, Buckinghamshire in 1348." 1
Other record confirm Finmere (Finmore) in Oxfordshire is a parish, in the union of Brackley, hundred of Ploughley. 2 Another source claims the earliest record of the family was Gilbert de Finemere who held lands here in AD 1208. 3
"Thomas Fynnamore was a burgess of Henley-on-Thames in the reign of Henry VIII. There were several Fennimores or Vennimores in Wendebury in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. In the time of William III. there was a Ffennimore in the parish of Enstone (J.). Fynnemore or Fynmore or Finnemore was a Reading name in the 16th and 17th centuries; two mayors of Reading bore this name, namely in 1577 and 1586." 4
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings of the family: Gilbert de Fenamore, Wiltshire; and Hugh Finamur, Norfolk. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fennimore research. Another 224 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1208, 1349, 1507, 1539 and 1673 are included under the topic Early Fennimore History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Fennimore have been found, including Fennimore, Fenemere, Finimore, Finnimore, Fenimore, Fenimere, Finmore and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Fennimore Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.