England
ScotlandThe founding heritage of the Ornie family is in the Anglo-Saxon culture that once dominated in Britain. The name Ornie comes from when one of the family worked as a person who carved objects out of horn or made musical instruments. This name was also given to a person who was employed as a hornblower; in the Middle Ages, workmen were often summoned to work by the blowing of a horn. The surname Ornie may also be a patronym derived from the personal name Horn. It may also be a local name given to someone who lived in one of the settlements of Horne in Rutland, Somerset, or Surrey, or near a bend, spur, or tongue of land.
Another source notes that the name is "a well-known Old English personal name, probably of Norse origin. Aluuin Horne was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086." [1]
The surname Ornie was first found in Middlesex and Hertfordshire where "Alwin Horne held lands before the making of the Domesday." [2] "The name of Horn or Horne, at present well represented around Wisbech, is also found in Kent. It was also represented in these two counties in the 13th century, as well as in London, Suffolk, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hunts, Northamptonshire, and Wiltshire." [3]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Adam Honi in Wiltshire, Henry Horn in Northamptonshire, Walter Horn in Oxfordshire, and Roger de Horne in Kent. [4] Over in Somerset, Kirby's Quest listed: William atte Horn and Thomas atte Home, temp 1 Edward III (in the first year of Edward III's reign. [5]
Andrew Horne (d. 1328), Chamberlain of London and legal writer, "born in London, carried on the trade of a fishmonger in Bridge Street. In 1315 he, with fifteen other fishmongers, was summoned before the sheriffs of London on a charge of using dorsers or baskets 'not of rightful measure.' Horn and one other person were acquitted. He was elected chamberlain of the city in January 1319." [6]
Further to the north in Scotland, "John Horn was beaten and evil-treated on the Border, 1279." [1] The "border" referenced was indeed the infamous border between England and Scotland, and events such as this may have precipitated King Edward I's intrusion into Scotland that took place in 1296.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ornie research. Another 122 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1279, 1400, 1434, 1404, 1406, 1407, 1487, 1540, 1510, 1579, 1560, 1580, 1568, 1565, 1640, 1581, 1584 and 1587 are included under the topic Early Ornie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Ornie has been spelled many different ways, including Horn, Horne, Athorne, Athorn and others.
Notables of the family at this time include Henry Horne (fl. 1400-1434), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Kent in 1404 and Sheriff of Kent (1406-1407); Sir William Whorne, Lord Mayor of London in 1487; Brother William Horne (d. 1540), one of the "Carthusian Martyrs."
Robert Horne (c. 1510-1579), was an English churchman, and a leading reforming Protestant, one of the Marian exiles, he was subsequently Bishop...
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ornie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Ornies to arrive in North America: Henry Horne, who came to Virginia in 1623; John Horne, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1630 with the "Winthrop Fleet," Ben Horne, who came to Virginia in 1651.
