Greanent History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The lineage of the name Greanent begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the chapelry of Greeham in the parish of Thatcham in the county of Berkshire. The place-name is derived from the Old English Greenham, which refers to either a green river-bed or a green homestead. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Greenham, a tything, in the parish of Ashbrittle, union of Wellington, hundred of Milverton in Somerset. 2

Greenan Castle is a 16th century tower house, around 2.5 miles south-west of Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland

Early Origins of the Greanent family

The surname Greanent was first found in Somerset, where Simon de Gryndham was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1268. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Ralph de Greneham, Suffolk and Ralph de Grenham was also listed in Suffolk, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III. 4

Early History of the Greanent family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Greanent research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1535, 1559, 1564, 1567, 1594 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Greanent History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greanent Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Greanent has undergone many spelling variations, including Greenham, Greenam, Greenum and others.

Early Notables of the Greanent family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Ralph Greenham of Suffolk; and Richard Greenham or Grenham (1535?-1594), an early Puritan Minister, at Dry Drayton, Cambridgeshire. He "was probably born about 1535, and went at an...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Greanent Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Greanent family to Ireland

Some of the Greanent family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Greanent family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Greanent were among those contributors: Richard Greenham who settled in New England in 1768.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)