Hamner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The Welsh name Hamner comes from the name of the parish of Hanmer, which was in the diocese of St. Asaph, in the county of Flint. 1
Early Origins of the Hamner family
The surname Hamner was first found in Flintshire (Welsh: Sir y Fflint), a historic county, created after the defeat of the Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd in 1284, and located in north-east Wales, where the Hamner family held a seat from early times as Lords of the manor of Hanmer in that shire, from about the year 1250.
The first to bear this name was Sir John of Macclesfield who was Constable of Carnarvon Castle who assumed the name of Hanmer from his mother's family, his mother being an heiress of Hanmer. The original family name is said to have been Mackfel, but this is thought to have been merely a corruption of Macclesfield. It is more likely that they are direct descendants of Tudor Trevor through David Ap Dai Madoc, through David Voel of Hanmer, grandson of Sir John Hopton of Bettisfield, who is claimed to be the lineal male ancestor of the Hanmers of Hanmer.
"Holbrook Hall, in the parish [of Little Waldfield in Suffolk] is the seat of a branch of the Hanmer family." 2
Early History of the Hamner family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hamner research. Another 178 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1332, 1370, 1387, 1420, 1543, 1574, 1575, 1584, 1590, 1598, 1604, 1606, 1612, 1615, 1624, 1628, 1629, 1640, 1659, 1669, 1677, 1678, 1687, 1701, 1714, 1715 and 1746 are included under the topic Early Hamner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Hamner Spelling Variations
Welsh surnames are relatively few in number, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. There are many factors that explain the preponderance of Welsh variants, but the earliest is found during the Middle Ages when Welsh surnames came into use. Scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, which often resulted in a single person's name being inconsistently recorded over his lifetime. The transliteration of Welsh names into English also accounts for many of the spelling variations: the unique Brythonic Celtic language of the Welsh had many sounds the English language was incapable of accurately reproducing. It was also common for members of a same surname to change their names slightly, in order to signify a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations. For all of these reasons, the many spelling variations of particular Welsh names are very important. The surname Hamner has occasionally been spelled Hanmere, Hanmare, Hanmair, Hanmer, Hanmerr, Handmer and many more.
Early Notables of the Hamner family
Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Sir David Hanmer, KS, SL (c.1332-1387), an Anglo-Welsh Justice of the King's Bench from Hanmer, Wales, Owain Glyndwr's father-in-law and the father of Glyndwr's chief supporters; and his wife, Margaret Hanmer (c. 1370 - c. 1420), also known by her Welsh name of Marred ferch Dafydd; Sir John Hanmer, 1st Baronet (1590-1624), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1624; Sir Thomas Hanmer, 2nd Baronet...
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hamner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Hamner Ranking
In the United States, the name Hamner is the 8,195th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3
Hamner migration to the United States +
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many people from Wales joined the general migration to North America in search of land, work, and freedom. These immigrants greatly contributed to the rapid development of the new nations of Canada and the United States. They also added a rich and lasting cultural heritage to their newly adopted societies. Investigation of immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Hamner:
Hamner Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Rinehart Hamner, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1729 4
Hamner Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Frederick Herman Hamner, who was living in Sacramento, California in 1868
Hamner migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Hamner Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
- Bryan Hamner, who was recorded in Ontario in 1832
- David G Hamner, who arrived in Canada in 1841
Hamner migration to New Zealand +
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:
Hamner Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Miss Sarah Ann Hamner, (b. 1832), aged 30, English house keeper from Middlesex travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd May 1862 5
Contemporary Notables of the name Hamner (post 1700) +
- Earl Henry Hamner Jr. (1923-2016), American two-time Primetime Emmy Award nominated television writer and producer, best known for his work on The Waltons and Falcon Crest
- Laura Vernon Hamner (1871-1968), American author, ranch historian, radio commentator, and educator
- Henry Rawlings Hamner (b. 1922), English-born, American Navy lieutenant, eponym of the USS Hamner (DD-718)
- Wesley Garvin Hamner (1924-2003), American Major League Baseball player
- Scott Hamner, American Daytime Emmy Award winning, Writers Guild of America Award winning television writer, son of Earl Hamner
- Cully Hamner, American comic book illustrator of the 2003 graphic novel Red, which was later adapted into a feature film in 2010
- Granville Wilbur Hamner (1927-1993), American Major League Baseball shortstop and second baseman
- Wesley Hamner, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Texas State House of Representatives 138th District, 2010 6
- Brigadier-General Nicholas Hamner Cobbs (1896-1968), American Fiscal Director of the Army (1942-1946) 7
The Hamner Motto +
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Gardez l'honneur
Motto Translation: Keep the honour.
Citations +
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- "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)
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, November 3) Nicholas Cobbs. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Cobbs/Nicholas_Hamner/USA.html