Show ContentsBonner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Bonner Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Bonner

What does the name Bonner mean?

The French surname Bonner is an occupational name for someone who made and sold hats. 1 2

Early Origins of the Bonner family

The surname Bonner was first found in Languedoc, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Bonner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bonner research. Another 389 words (28 lines of text) covering the years 1642, 1668, 1688, 1703, 1718, 1720, 1765 and 1793 are included under the topic Early Bonner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bonner Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Bonner, including Bonnet, Bonner, Bonné, Bonnée, Bonnais, Bonney, Bonnay, Bonnaie, Bonnai, Bonnaye, Bonet, Boner, Boné, Bonée, Boney, Bonay, Bonaye, de Bonnet, de Bonner, de Bonnay, de Bonney, de Bonet, de Boner, de Boney, de Bonay, de Bonnet, de Bonner, de Bonney, de Bonnay, de Bonet, de Boner, de Boney, de Bonay, de Bonet, du Bonnet, Dubonnet and many more.

Early Notables of the Bonner family

Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bonner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bonner Ranking

the United States, the name Bonner is the 855th most popular surname with an estimated 34,818 people with that name. 3

Bonner migration to the United States +

Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. In 1793, the remaining French in these provinces came under British rule. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Bonner were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Bonner were

Bonner Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • James Bonner, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1622 aboard the ship "Truelove" 5
  • Mr. Richard Bonner, who arrived in Virginia in 1636 aboard the ship "Friendship" 6
  • John Bonner, who landed in Virginia in 1638 5
  • Thomas Bonner, who arrived in Virginia in 1638 5
  • Rich Bonner, who landed in Virginia in 1643 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Bonner Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Chr Bonner, who landed in Virginia in 1702 5
  • Rudolph Bonner, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1732 5
  • Jasper Bonner, aged 20, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1740 5
  • James Bonner, who settled in Philadelphia in 1742
  • Conrad[ Bonner, aged 25, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1748 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Bonner Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • William Bonner, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 5
  • James Bonner, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 5
  • Alexander Bonner, who arrived in New York in 1809 5
  • Jane Bonner, who landed in New York, NY in 1811 5
  • John Bonner, who landed in New York, NY in 1812 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bonner migration to Canada +

Bonner Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Martha Bonner, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
  • Eliz Bonner, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
  • John Bonner, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Bonner migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the Third Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Third Fleet
  • Miss Jane Bonner, (b. 1765), aged 22, English convicted in London on 18th April 1787, sentenced for 7 years for stealing clothing, transported aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" leaving in 1787 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1788, she died aboard the ship 4
Following the Third Fleets, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Bonner Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Henry Bonner, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on February 22, 1834, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 7
  • Mr. James Bonner, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Charles Kerr" on 6th June 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
  • Mr. Ralph Bonner, (b. 1827), aged 17, Irish weaver who was convicted in Donegal, Ireland for 14 years for theft, transported aboard the "Cadet" on 9th April 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
  • George Bonner, English Convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Aboukir" on December 24, 1851, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 10
  • Mr. John Bonner, (Burnell), Welsh convict who was convicted in Cardiff, Wales for 7 years, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 11th March 1863, arriving in Western Australia, Australia 11

Bonner 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:

Bonner Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Margaret Bonner, (b. 1845), aged 23, British general servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 8th February 1869 12
  • Mr. William Bonner, (b. 1853), aged 22, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Peter Denny" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 25th November 1875 13

Bonner migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 14
Bonner Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Mr. John Bonner, (b. 1617), aged 18, British settler travelling aboard the ship "Expedition" arriving in Barbados in 1636 15

Contemporary Notables of the name Bonner (post 1700) +

  • Frank Bonner (1942-2021), born Frank Woodrow Boers Jr., an American actor and television director widely known for his role as sales manager Herb Tarlek on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati
  • James Frederick Bonner (1910-1996), American biologist
  • Anthony Bonner (b. 1968), American former professional NBA basketball player
  • Robert R. Bonner Jr., American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 5 aerial victories
  • Mr. Nicholas Bonner, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1542 to 1543, he was Mayor in 1559 and 1565
  • Mr. Humphrey Bonner, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1577 to 1578, he was Mayor in 1593, 1594, 1600, 1601, 1607 and 1608
  • Charles George Bonner (1884-1951), English recipient of the Victoria Cross
  • Neville Thomas Bonner (1922-1999), Australian politician, the first Indigenous Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia
  • Arthur Lancelot Bonner, English civil engineer involved in the design of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
HMAS Sydney II
  • Mr. Reginald Bonner (1906-1941), Australian Mechanician 1st Class from Belmore, New South Wales, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 16
  • Mr. Colin A Bonner (b. 1900), English Able Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Cambridge, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 17
  • Walter Clive Bonner (1913-1939), British Band Corporal with the Royal Marine aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 18
  • Mr. Michael Bonner (b. 1814), Irish labourer from Moville, Ireland who sailed aboard the "Lady of the Lake" from Greenock, Scotland on 8th April 1833 to Quebec, Canada when the ship hit ice and sunk of the coast of Newfoundland on the 11th May 1833 and he died in the sinking

Suggested Readings for the name Bonner +

  • The Bonner Family Record by Kathryn R. Bonner.
  • The Bonner Family History by Sue Bonner Thornton.
  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
  5. 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)
  6. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  7. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1834 with 230 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1834
  8. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 1st February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/charles-kerr
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cadet/
  10. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 18) Aboukir voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Norfolk Island. [These convicts appear to have all landed in Van Diemen's Land], Australia in 1851 with 280 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/aboukir/1851
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
  12. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  13. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  15. Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  16. HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
  17. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  18. Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html

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