Contents [hide]

Mare History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Mare History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Scotland

The name Mare was originally "De La Mare, from the great fief of La Mare, near St. Opportune, in the comune of Autretot, Normandy; where their castle was built upon piles on the margin of the lake still called Grande-mare." 1

One source claims the name was derived from the Old French word "marre," meaning "a ram."

Early Origins of the Mare family

The surname Mare was first found in Normandy where "Sire de la Mare is one of the Norman nobles enumerated by Wace at the battle of Hastings; and the family became very numerous both in Normandy and England. Sir William de la Mare, and his lands in the valley of La Mare, are mentioned in a charter of St. Louis, dated 1259; and as many as nine Sires de La Mare (almost all of them bearing different arms) are entered on the roll of "Gentilshommes de la Normandie" given in the Nobiliaire." 1

The ancestor of the English families, Norman de La Mare, lived c. 1030 and Hugo de La Mare occurs in the Breton charter in 1070. This was one of his sons, of whom four went to England at the Conquest. 2

William de Mare was an undertenant in Wiltshire and Herefordshire according to the Domesday Book of 1086. 3

Early History of the Mare family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mare research. Another 302 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1375, 1383, 1384, 1388, 1391, 1397, 1585, 1610, 1629, 1637, 1653, 1660, 1674, 1680, 1712 and 1738 are included under the topic Early Mare History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mare Spelling Variations

The many different spellings of French surnames can be partially explained by the use of local dialects and by the influence of other languages during the early development of the French language. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Mare is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Marre, Marres, Mar, La Marre, La Mare, La Marres, La Mares, La Mar, Maur, Maure, Maures, Maurre, Maurres, More, Mores, Morre, Mars, Maurs, Moure, Mourre, Merre, Mer, Mere and many more.

Early Notables of the Mare family

Notable amongst the family in this period was Guillaume de la Marre, treasurer of France at Dijon. Thomas Lamer (died 1397), of Dorchester (Dorset) and London was an English politician. He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England...
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mare Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mare Ranking

In France, the name Mare is the 6,623^rd most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 4

Mare migration to the United States +

France finally gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the 1700s. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Mare were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Mare were

Mare Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Rowland Mare, who arrived in Maryland in 1641 5
John Mare, who settled in Virginia in 1651
Piere Mare, who landed in New Netherland(s) in 1662 5
Mary Mare, who settled in Virginia in 1663
Andrew and Mary Mare, who settled in Virginia in 1663
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mare Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Nicholas Mare, who arrived in Virginia in 1700 5
Nicholas Mare with his wife and two children settled in Virginia in 1700
Nicholas Mare, who settled in Virginia with his wife and two children in 1700
Ralph Mare, who landed in Virginia in 1714 5
William Mare, who arrived in Maryland in 1716 5

Mare Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Mare, who landed in America in 1807 5
W B Mare, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
Federico Mare, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1860 5

Mare migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Mare Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Mare, British Convict who was convicted in Devon, England for life, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. John Mare, (b. 1831), aged 26, Cornish farm labourer travelling aboard the ship "Herefordshire" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 27th May 1857 7
Mrs. Eliza Mare, (b. 1836), aged 21, Cornish house servant travelling aboard the ship "Herefordshire" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 27th May 1857 7
Miss Louisa Mare, (b. 1855), aged 2, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Herefordshire" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 27th May 1857, she died on board 7
Mr. John Mare, (b. 1856), aged Infant, English settler, from Devonshire, England, UK travelling aboard the ship "Herefordshire" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 27th May 1857 7

Mare migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Mare Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Mare, aged 30, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "City of Auckland" in 1872
Catherine Mare, aged 27, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "City of Auckland" in 1872

Mare migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 8

Mare Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Alice Mare, aged 22, who settled in Barbados in 1635
Alce Mare, aged 22, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Mare (post 1700) +

Carlos H. Le Mare, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Iquique, 1916-17; U.S. Vice Consul in Iquique, 1921
Carlos H. Le Mare (b. 1868), American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Iquique, 1912; U.S. Vice & Deputy Consul in Iquique, 1914; U.S. Consular Agent in Iquique, 1915-18

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
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)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_nsw_1850_59.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies