Finnimore History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Finnimore is a name whose history is entwined with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person who was perceived to be splendid and very likable. The surname is derived from the Old French words fin, a nickname for a very elegant man and amour, which is means love.

Early Origins of the Finnimore family

The surname Finnimore was first found in Devonshire where "Sir Gilbert Finemer or Finemore held half a knight's fee of the Honour of Clare, temp. Henry II.; and bore the red chevrons of his suzerain on a field of ermine. The name is also found at Hinksey in Berkshire; and in the church of St. Lawrence at Reading there is a monument to the memory of one of this family, with the following quaint inscription: 'Under they feet, reader, lie the remains of Richard Fynemore, his father's Benjamin, and his brother's Joseph; who coming from Oxon to the burial of a friend, found here his own grave, 1664.' The manor of Tingewick in Buckinghamshire was given in 1210 by this family to the monastery de Monet Rothomago in Normandy. It had passed to them from the Lacys before the reign of Henry III. They probably gave their name to the neighbouring village of Finmore in Oxfordshire. Hugh de Finemer was Vicar of Shabbington, Buckinghamshire in 1348." 1

Other record confirm Finmere (Finmore) in Oxfordshire is a parish, in the union of Brackley, hundred of Ploughley. 2 Another source claims the earliest record of the family was Gilbert de Finemere who held lands here in AD 1208. 3

"Thomas Fynnamore was a burgess of Henley-on-Thames in the reign of Henry VIII. There were several Fennimores or Vennimores in Wendebury in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. In the time of William III. there was a Ffennimore in the parish of Enstone (J.). Fynnemore or Fynmore or Finnemore was a Reading name in the 16th and 17th centuries; two mayors of Reading bore this name, namely in 1577 and 1586." 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings of the family: Gilbert de Fenamore, Wiltshire; and Hugh Finamur, Norfolk. 5

Early History of the Finnimore family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Finnimore research. Another 224 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1208, 1349, 1507, 1539 and 1673 are included under the topic Early Finnimore History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Finnimore Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Finnimore were recorded, including Fennimore, Fenemere, Finimore, Finnimore, Fenimore, Fenimere, Finmore and many more.

Early Notables of the Finnimore family

More information is included under the topic Early Finnimore Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Finnimore migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Finnimore Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. J. A. Finnimore, (b. 1852), aged 25, English gardener, from Devonshire, England, UK travelling aboard the ship "Corona" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 23rd July 1877 6
Mrs. Thomasine Finnimore, (b. 1854), aged 23, English settler, from Devonshire, England, UK travelling aboard the ship "Corona" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 23rd July 1877 6
Miss Lily B. Finnimore, (b. 1876), aged 1, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Corona" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 23rd July 1877 6

Finnimore 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:

Finnimore Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Finnimore, aged 39, a farmer, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1841
Anna Finnimore, aged 24, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1841
William Finnimore, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842

Contemporary Notables of the name Finnimore (post 1700) +

Ernest Edwin Finnimore (b. 1875), American Democratic Party politician, Supervisor, blacksmith department, Maine Central Railroad; Mayor of Waterville, Maine, 1920-21 7
Elsie Finnimore Buckley (1882-1959), English writer and translator, born in Calcutta

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 19). Emigrants to Australia NSW 1860 -88 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/nsw_passenger_lists_1860_88.pdf
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html