We must look to France for the early origins of the name Mutimer. For it is here that early records this family descends from Walter, Lord of St. Martin,
Normandy who married a niece of the Duchess Gunnora c. 980. Roger, Sire de Mortimer was a leader of the army of Duke William and helped defeat the French in 1054. His son Roger de Mortimer was a leader at the Battle of Hastings and was granted a great barony for his efforts. From him, descended the Lords Mortimer of Wigmore, Earls of March. The name, however, is a reference to the family's place of residence prior to the
Norman Conquest of
England in 1066, Moretemer, in the Seine-Maritime region of
Normandy.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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) Mortemer derives from the Old French "mort," meaning "dead," and "mer," meaning "sea."
Early Origins of the Mutimer family
The surname Mutimer was first found in
Herefordshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated as Lords of the manor and estates in that shire. Ranulph de Mortimer (before 1070), accompanied William the Conqueror and was granted Wigmore Castle in Hereford. They became the Lords of Wigmore. The
Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 revealed the following entries: Ralph de Mortimer in Lincolnshire; and Hugh de Mortuomari, and Lucia de Mortuomari in
Herefordshire.
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6) "The parish [of Woodham-Mortimer], called in some documents Little Woodham, derives its present adjunct from the family of Mortimer, to whom it anciently belonged."
[3]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. Some of the family held a
family seat at Attleburgh in
Norfolk in ancient times. "It was anciently the capital of
Norfolk, and the residence of Offa and Edmund, kings of East Anglia; and was subsequently the seat of the Mortimer family, the site of whose baronial hall is still encompassed by a moat. In the reign of Richard II., Robert de Mortimer founded a collegiate establishment, in the church of the Holy Cross, for a warden and four secular priests."
[3]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. Some moved up to
Scotland. "The first of the name recorded in
Scotland is probably William de Mortimer who sometime after 1165 witnessed King William the Lion's confirmation of the charter of Philip de Euermel to Neubotel."
[4]CITATION[CLOSE]
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Early History of the Mutimer family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mutimer research.
Another 192 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1328, 1827, 1287, 1330, 1321, 1324, 1328, 1360, 1352, 1381, 1374, 1398, 1376, 1409, 1390 and 1411 are included under the topic Early Mutimer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Mutimer 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 Mutimer 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 Mutimer include Mortimer, Mortimor and others.
Early Notables of the Mutimer family (pre 1700)
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (c.1287-1330), an English nobleman in the
Welsh marches, who surrendered to Edward II in 1321, and escaped from the Tower of London in 1324; and his son, Sir Roger de Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, 4th Baron...
Another 126 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mutimer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Mutimer family to the New World and Oceana
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 Mutimer, or a variant listed above: John Mortimore, who came to Virginia in 1663; James Mortimer, who came to Pennsylvania in 1696; Margaret Mortimer, who came to Pennsylvania in 1683; George Mortimore, who arrived in Jamaica in 1716.