The name Blakemore is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family lived in the area of Blackmore. Early members lived near one of two places named Blakmore, a parish in the diocese of Winchester, and a parish in the diocese of St. Albans. The place-name is derived from the Old English words blaec, meaning black, and mor, meaning marsh, and would have been used to name a settlement near a dark marsh. Another source notes the name could have meant ‘dweller by the dark mere’ from the Old English 'blæc' + 'mere', from the Old English 'blæc,' and the Middle English 'Mor' ‘a Moor’.[1]
The surname Blakemore was first found in the Domesday Book of 1086 where Blachemer was recorded in Shropshire (Salop.) [2] Years later, William de Blakemere was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275 and later, Kateryna de Blakemere was registered in Herefordshire in 1296. [1]
Baldwin de Blakomor was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Devon in 1200, as was Nicholas de Blakemore in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1307. [1]
Early Norfolk records show William Blakhommore, Norwich, 1398; and William de Blachomor, Norwich, 4 Richard II (during the fourth year of the reign of Richard II.) [3]
In Somerset, Margery de Blakemor was recorded there 1 Edward III (in the first year of King Edward III's reign.) [4]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Richard de Blakemore, Oxfordshire; and (Prior) de Blakemore, Essex. [5]
"The Blackmores are now numerous in Honiton and its neighbourhood, There is (or was) an epitaph in the Middle Temple church to Mark Blackmore, son of Mark Blackmore, of Harpford, in the county of Devon, gent. (Dugdale's "Orig. Jur. "), which cannot bear a later date than the early part of the 17th century. A family of the name lived in Exmouth last century: in 1746 Mr. Blackmore "leaded ye tower;" and in 1771 and 1811 William and John Blackmore were clerks of Exmouth Chapel (Webb) Blackmore and Blackmoor are places in Essex, Wilts, and other counties. Blakemore is now a Shropshire surname. Blakema and De Blakemor were surnames in Bucks, Oxon, and Essex six centuries ago." [6]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blakemore research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1654, 1729, 1684 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Blakemore History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Blakemore has been spelled many different ways, including Blakemore, Blackmore, Blackamore, Blackmere and others.
Notables of the family at this time include Richard Blakemore, High Sheriff of Hereford; Sir Richard Blackmore (1654-1729), English poet and physician from Corsham, Wiltshire; Sir John Blackmore, English peer who was in the confidence of...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blakemore Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Blakemore is the 8,592nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [7]
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Blakemores to arrive in North America: