Show ContentsHansom History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

It was among those Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled over Britain that the name Hansom was formed. The name was derived from the baptismal name for the "son of Henry," or "the son of Heyn." 1

"There are few traces of the name in the Hundred Rolls of 1273. The large business done between the English and Low Countries in the 14th century, however, made the foreign forms familiar, especially in counties like Yorkshire." 1

Early Origins of the Hansom family

The surname Hansom was first found in Yorkshire where the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: Adam Hanneson; Robertus Hanson; Willelmus Hanson; Johanna Hanson, wyf (wife); and Johannes Hanneson as all holding lands there at that time. 1

The Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire listed John Handson there in 1327 and later William Hondesone was listed in the Subsidy Roll for Staffordshire in 1332. John Hanson was found in the Subsidy Rolls of Cumberland (Cumbria) in 1332 and in Lancashire, Ralph Hanneson was found there in 1350. 2

"The Hansons have for a long time resided in the parish of Halifax. A rector of Thornton two centuries ago bore this name. Richard Hanson, who was three times mayor of Hull in the reign of Henry VI., died heroically at the battle of Wakefield in 1460. Captain Hanson, who was taken prisoner in the same battle, was executed at Pontefract." 3

Early History of the Hansom family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hansom research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1603, 1604, 1611, 1630, 1641, 1658 and 1675 are included under the topic Early Hansom History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hansom Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Hansom include Hanson, Hansom and others.

Early Notables of the Hansom family

Notables of this surname at this time include: John Hanson (fl. 1604), English poet, who proceeded B.A. from Peterhouse, Cambridge, in 1603-1604." He was author of a very rare volume of verse, entitled 'Time is a Turn-coate, or England's Threefold Metamorphosis ; also a pageant speech or Idylion pronounced to the citie of London before the entrance of her long expected consort,' i.e. James I, London, printed for J. H., 1604." 4 Another John...
Another 72 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hansom Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Hansom migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Hansom were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Hansom Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • J Hansom, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
  • L B Hansom, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Hansom (post 1700) +

  • William Hansom, American politician, Representative from New York 4th District, 1878 6
  • John Hansom, American politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Kings County 8th District, 1935 6
  • James A. Hansom, American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Hartland; Elected 1932 6
  • Charles Francis Hansom (1816-1888), English prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style, brother of Joseph Aloysius Hansom
  • Edward Joseph Hansom (1842-1900), English Victorian architect who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings in Gothic Revival style, son of Charles Francis Hansom
  • Joseph Aloysius Hansom (1803-1882), English architect and inventor, born in York on 26 Oct. 1803; his 'Patent Safety Cab ' (No. 6733), registered on 23 Dec. 1834, would lead to the vehicle named after him 7


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  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. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 30) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  7. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020


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