Maness History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Maness family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Mesnieres a small village in France near Roen and was "granted probably temp. Rollo (c. 846-c.932) to Mainer, a Viking ancestor. It was held as half a knight's fee temp. Philip Augustus by the Abbey of Lyre. The family of Mesnieres long continued in Normandy, Ralph and Roger de Mesieres being mentioned 1198 and William de Mesieres in 1232, whose descendants continued to be of consequence till c. 1400 when the male line ceased." 1 Another source confirms the probably Norman ancestry: "From Menoir, and that from the Latin Manere, to stay or to abide. Lands granted to some military man or Baron by the king, a custom brought in by the Normans." 2

Early Origins of the Maness family

The surname Maness was first found in Northumberland where Sir Robert Manners was one of the first on record, when he held land in Northumberland in 1165, and it is suggested that the village Mannor near Lanchester in neighboring Durham was named from the family. "According to Camden and other antiquaries, this noble family had their denomination from the village of Mannor, near Lanchester, co. Durham. They were certainly influential in the northern counties, and Collins traces the name to a William de Manner, who flourished temp. William Rufus. The pedigree is deduced by him from Sir Robert de Manners, lord of Etal in Northumberland, several generations anterior to the reign of Henry III." 3 The first Sir Robert de Manners born (c. 1038) was probably born in Ethdale, Northumberland. He is the progenitor of a long list of sons with the same name.

Early History of the Maness family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Maness research. Another 157 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1324, 1327, 1340, 1488, 1525, 1543, 1559, 1587, 1588, 1604, 1638, 1640, 1641, 1676, 1679, 1696, 1697, 1703, 1711, 1721, 1772 and 1779 are included under the topic Early Maness History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Maness Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Manners, Maners, Manner and others.

Early Notables of the Maness family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Thomas Manners (c.1488-1543), son of the 12th Baron de Ros of Hamlake, who was created Earl of Rutland in 1525 - this was the second creation of this title, which has remained with the Manners, ever since; John Manners (c.1559-1588), the 4th Earl of Rutland and...
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Maness Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Maness Ranking

In the United States, the name Maness is the 4,110^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 4

Maness migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Maness or a variant listed above were:

Maness Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Martha Maness, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 5

Maness Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Carl Maness, aged 26, who arrived in America, in 1923

Contemporary Notables of the name Maness (post 1700) +

Adam Maness, American pianist, known for his work with Erin Bode on her album Over and Over
Rob Maness, American retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and politician, Republican Party candidate for the United States Senate election in Louisiana, 2014
James Maness (b. 1963), American former NFL football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears in 1985
Jack Maness, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist from Long Beach, California
Michael Seth Maness (b. 1988), American Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
Paul R. Maness, American Republican politician, Chair of Preston County Republican Party, 1945-46; Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Preston County, 1945-48 6
Macye Maness, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Missouri, 1940; Chair of Ripley County Democratic Party, 1949 6
Hubert Maness, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Manaos, 1943 6
E. A. Maness, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1924 6
Mrs. C. E. Maness, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1928 6

Historic Events for the Maness family +

USS Indianapolis

Charles F. Maness, American crew member on board the ship "USS Indianapolis" when she was on a top secret trip for the first nuclear weapon, she was sunk by Japanese Navy on 30th July 1945, he was one of the many who were killed in the sinking due to exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning and shark attacks 7

The Maness Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Pour y parvenir
Motto Translation: To accomplish it

Citations +

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)
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Final Crew List, retrieved 2021, October 30th Retrieved from https://www.ussindianapolis.com/final-crew