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The present generation of the Greent family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in the village greene which was the center or main square of each region. It is derived from the Old English "grene," meaning "green," and was most likely first borne by a family who lived in the village greene, the center or main square of a region. Alternatively, it may have been bestowed as a nickname on someone who was particularly fond of dressing in green. 1
The surname Greent was first found in Kent, where the earliest record of the name was Geoffrey Greene who was recorded in a Poll Tax in 1188. As every early English village had a green, the surname Greent emerged independently in many different places during the Middle Ages, thus creating several early branches of the Greent family. Richard de la Grene was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1200 and Geoffrey Attegrene was listed in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire in 1206. 2 The prefix "atte" was a popular namesake which meant in this case "at the green." 1
Years later, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Deonisia ate Grene and Warin de la Grene; while the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Petnis del Grene and Adam del Grene, as holding lands there at that time. 3
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Greent research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1221, 1461, 1462, 1506, 1558, 1592, 1614, 1620, 1630, 1636, 1679, 1685, 1690, 1700, 1702, 1705, 1708 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Greent History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Greent include Greene, Green, Grene, Grean and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Thomas de Green (c.1461-1506), Lord of Greens Norton, received Boughton, Greens Norton, and large monetary grants through his inheritance upon the death of his father in 1462; Dr. John Green, the Bishop of Lincoln; Sir William Greene of Oxford, Alderman Greene of Chester; Robert Greene (1558-1592), English dramatist; John Henry Green (1636-1685), an English...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Greent Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 123 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Greent were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Aderton Greene, who came to Virginia in 1623; John Greene, who settled in Boston in 1625; Abigail Greene, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1632.