Harmar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Harmar reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Harmar family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Harmar is based on the Old English given name Heremoer. It derives from the Old English elements here, which means army, and moer, which means fame. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been "an ancient personal name, occurring in the Domesday Book of Norfolk among the tenants in chief as Hermerus. " 2

The family may have originated in Normandy as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists John, Ralph, William Hermer, in Normandy, (1180 - 1198.) 3

Early Origins of the Harmar family

The surname Harmar was first found in Staffordshire where as a forename, Hermerus de la Bold was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1176. A few years later, Willelmus filius Hermeri was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1208 and William de Herme was found in the Curia Regis Rolls for Sussex in 1207. Simon de Haremere was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296. Later again, Walter Hermer was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 4

In Yorkshire, Johannes Hermer was listed in the Poll Tax of Howdenshire in 1379 and Ricardus Hermer was found in the Poll Tax of Yorkshire of 1379. 5

Early History of the Harmar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harmar research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1555, 1569, 1572, 1575, 1594, 1610, 1613, 1646, 1647, 1670 and 1972 are included under the topic Early Harmar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harmar Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Harmar are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Harmar include Harmer, Harmar, Hermer, Hermar, Hearmer, Hearmar and others.

Early Notables of the Harmar family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

John Harmer or Harmar (c.1555- c.1613), English professor of Greek at Oxford. He was born, probably of humble parentage, at Newbury in Berkshire about 1555. Through the influence of the Earl of Leices...
John Harmer or Harmar (1594?-1670), was also a Professor of Greek at Oxford, and nephew of John Harmar , he was born at Churchdown, near Gloucester, about 1594, and was educated at Winchester. 6

Harmar migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Harmar, or a variant listed above:

Harmar Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Charles Harmar, who arrived in Virginia in 1644 7
Win Harmar, who arrived in Virginia in 1658 7
John Harmar, who landed in Virginia in 1663 7
John Harmar, who arrived in Virginia in 1652
Martha Harmar, who landed in Virginia in 1695 7

Harmar Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Harmar, who arrived in New York in 1795 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Harmar (post 1700) +

Harmar Denny McKnight (1848-1900), American founding owner of the Allegheny Baseball Club of Pittsburgh, later known as the Pittsburgh Pirates, son of Robert McKnight
Harmar Denny (1794-1852), American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1824 to 1829

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)