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The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Harnish came from the personal name Agnes, which itself is derived from the Greek name Hagne, which means pure and holy. The name was also used in the Latin phrase Agnus Dei, which means lamb of God. The personal name Agnes was popularized by devotees, the early Christian martyr, Saint Agnes. 1
The name could have been an occupational name as one source notes it was "the old word for body-armour. Hence Lightharness, and the French Beauhamois, or 'fair harness.'' 2
The surname Harnish was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 where the name was found as a forename and surname: Robert filius Harneis, Lincolnshire; John filius Hernici, Lincolnshire; Roger Herneys, Norfolk; John Harneys, Cambridgeshire; and Heme' de Stano, Suffolk. 3
The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included: Robert Arnys; Robertus Arnis; Johanna Ernys; and Robert Hernays. 3
The name is a "well-known Lincolnshire surname to-day, and found there six centuries ago." 3
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harnish research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1384, 1402, 1790, 1804, 1825, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1832, 1834, 1850, 1854, 1855, 1869 and 1883 are included under the topic Early Harnish History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Harnish family name include Anniss, Anness, Arness, Annison, Arnison, Annes, Ennis and many more.
Notables of the family at this time include Dom João Anes (João Eanes), died 1402, bishop (since 1384), first Archbishop of Lisbon; Annis of Nottingham.
William Harness (1790-1869), was the author of a 'Life of Shakespeare,' born near Wickham in Hampshire on 14 March 1790, was son of John Harness, M.D., commissioner of transports, and elder brother of Sir Henry Drury Harness. 4
Sir Henry Drury Harness (1804-1883), the British general, colonel-commandant royal engineers, son of John Harness, Esq., M.D., Commissioner of the Transport Board, was born in 1804. Harness passed high out of the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in 1825, but...
Another 149 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Harnish Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Harnish is the 11,534th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Harnish surname or a spelling variation of the name include:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: