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The surname Honea is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It is derived from the Old English "hunig," meaning "honey," and was used to refer to someone who gathered or sold honey, or to someone who kept bees. Alternatively, Honea was a Middle English term of endearment, meaning "sweetheart" or "darling," and may have evolved from nickname to surname during the Middle Ages.
The surname Honea was first found in Worcestershire at the end of the 13th century. The origins of the surname make it likely that several branches of the family emerged independently during this period. The earliest record of the name dates back to 1275, when Geoffrey Hony was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Honea research. Another 122 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1279, 1296, 1771, 1776, 1788, 1842, 1855 and 1875 are included under the topic Early Honea 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 Honea family name include Honey, Hony, Honea and others.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Honea Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Honea is the 7,829th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1
Another 59 words (4 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, Canada, 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 Honea surname or a spelling variation of the name include: James Honey, who settled in Virginia in 1704; as did Mary Hony in 1724; John Honey, who immigrated to Annapolis, Maryland in 1726; George Honey, who was naturalized in Maryland in 1753.