Pont History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Pont is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Pont family lived in Hampshire. Their name, however, derives from the Old English pond, meaning enclosed expanse of water, and indicates that the original bearer lived near such a landmark.
Early Origins of the Pont family
The surname Pont was first found in Hampshire where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.
Early History of the Pont family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pont research. Another 106 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1180, 1214, 1560, 1565, 1585, 1602, 1609, 1614 and 1623 are included under the topic Early Pont History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Pont Spelling Variations
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Pont are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Pont include Pond, Pont, Ponde, Ponte and others.
Early Notables of the Pont family
Notables of this surname at this time include:
- Timothy Pont (c. 1565-1614), Scottish mapmaker - the first man to produce a detailed map of Scotland...
- Timothy Pont (c. 1560-1614), was a Scottish topographer, elder son of Robert Pont, a Scottish reformer...
- On 25 July 1609 Pont was enrolled for a share of two thousand acres in connection with the scheme for the Plantation of Ulster, the price being £4001...
Pont Ranking
In France, the name Pont is the 1,443rd most popular surname with an estimated 3,997 people with that name. 2
Pont migration to the United States +
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Pont, or a variant listed above:
Pont Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Vieu Pont, who landed in New York, NY in 1663 3
Pont Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Fernando Pont, aged 20, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1853 3
- Francis Pont, who landed in Mississippi in 1860 3
- Jorge Pont, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1862 3
- Joachim Pont, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1878 3
Contemporary Notables of the name Pont (post 1700) +
- Thomas Coleman du Pont (1863-1930), American Republican politician, Delaware Republican State Chair, 1904-12; Member of Republican National Committee from Delaware, 1908-30 4
- Reynolds du Pont (1918-1980), American Republican politician, Engineer; Chemical manufacturer; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Delaware, 1964 4
- Pierre Samuel IV du Pont (b. 1935), American Republican politician, Member of Delaware State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Delaware at-large, 1971-77; Governor of Delaware, 1977-85 4
- Pierre Samuel du Pont (1870-1954), American politician, Delegate to Delaware convention to ratify 21st amendment, 1933; Delaware Liquor Commissioner, 1933-38 4
- Henry Belin du Pont Jr. (1898-1970), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Delaware, 1936 4
- Henry Algernon du Pont (1838-1926), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Delaware, 1896, 1908, 1912; U.S. Senator from Delaware, 1906-17; Defeated, 1916 4
- Francis Victor du Pont (b. 1894), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Delaware, 1944, 1948; Member of Republican National Committee from Delaware, 1952 4
- Francis I. du Pont, American politician, Candidate for Mayor of Wilmington, Delaware, 1913 4
- Ethel Hallock du Pont, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Delaware, 1924, 1928; Member of Republican National Committee from Delaware, 1924 4
- Eleuthere I. du Pont, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Delaware, 1956 4
- ... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Citations +
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
- 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)
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html