The name Chaunce came to England with the ancestors of the Chaunce family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Chaunce family lived in Cauncy, near Amiens, in northern France. The Sieur de Cauncy came from here. "His descendant Sir Henry Chauncy gained distinction as the historian of Hertfordshire. Many of the name and family are settled in that county." [1]
"It is quite possible that Chance may have been a personal name, like Bonaventure, which it exactly represented; chance in Middle English generally meaning a happy accident, a good mishap. " [2]
The surname Chaunce was first found in Essex where Robert and Ralph Chance were listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1209 and later in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1310. Simon de Chanci was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1218 and later, Roger de Chauncy was found in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1230. Also in Yorkshire, we found John Chancy listed there 1293-1294. Later, Roger Chansi was listed in Gloucestershire in 1361. [3]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chaunce research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1581, 1592, 1672, 1654, 1632, 1712, 1632, 1719 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Chaunce History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Chance, Chancey, Chaunceur, Channsy, Channsey, Chauncey, Chancy and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Maurice Chauncy (d. 1581), Carthusian monk, whose surname is found under the forms of Chamney, Chawney, Chancy, Channy, Chenye, Chasee, and Chawsey, was the eldest son of John Chauncy, esq., of Ardele, Hertfordshire. [4]
and Charles Chauncy (1592-1672), was an English-born, American clergyman and educator from Yardleybury (Ardeley), Hertfordshire who became President of Harvard College in...
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Chaunce Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.