England
IrelandThe origins of the name Harmony are from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from Herman or Hermannus. [1] The names are really the same; it was a common practice for scribes to record a given name in the Latin style, where us is the masculine suffix. The personal name meant warrior having derived from the Old French word hermant, or from the Old German words hariman or hereman, all of which meant "warrior." [1]
This name came to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest in 1066. However, not all of the family moved to England as Ralph, William, Richard and Hugh Herman were all listed in Normandy in 1180. [2]
The surname Harmony was first found in Norfolk where Willelmus Harmannus, who was listed in 1208 in the St. Benet of Holme (1020-1240), is generally considered to be the first record of the name. Another branch was found in Sussex where William de Hermer was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of Sussex in 1207. Simone Haremere was listed in the Subsidy Rolls in Sussex in 1296, and later, William Harmere was listed in 1428. [1]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings using older spellings: Nicholas Herman in Suffolk; and Cecilia Hereman in Huntingdonshire.
The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Thomas Herman and Ricardus Harman as residing there at that time. [3]
Haremere Hall near Etchingham, East Sussex was home to this branch since the 12th century. By the 1600's the hall had fallen from their hands and was held by James Temple, one of the judges at the trial of King Charles I. Today it is now a Grade I listed Jacobean building and is still held in private hands.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harmony research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1101, 1549, 1535, 1440, 1535, 1567, 1480, 1547, 1621, 1646, 1640, 1646, 1673 and 1673 are included under the topic Early Harmony History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Harmony family name include Harman, Harmon, Harriman, Herman, Hernon, Hermanson, Harnum and many more.
Distinguished members of the family include William Horman (c. 1440-1535), headmaster at Eton and Winchester, best known for his Latin grammar textbook the Vulgaria. He was born at Salisbury, and educated partly at Winchester. [4]
Thomas Harman (fl. 1567), was an English writer on beggars, grandson of Henry Harman, clerk of the crown under Henry VII, who obtained about 1480 the estates of Ellam and Maystreet in Kent. Thomas's father, William Harman, added to these estates the manor of Mayton or Maxton in the same county. As his father's heir, Thomas inherited all this...
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Harmony Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Harmony family to IrelandSome of the Harmony family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Harmony migration to the United States +For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Harmony surname or a spelling variation of the name include:
