Punn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Punn

What does the name Punn mean?

The name Punn is of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was name for a person who was of good character. It originally derived from the Old French as le bon which was used as a term of endearment. The surname was adopted in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. 1

Early Origins of the Punn family

The surname Punn was first found in Oxfordshire, where Edward le Bon was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1204. In Wiltshire, the first record there was that of Rocelin le Bun who appeared in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1255. Walter le Bone was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296 and Thomas Bonne was found in Herefordshire in 1379. 2

Walter Buns was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 in Oxfordshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included Rogerus Bonne; and Johannes Bunne. 3

Early History of the Punn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Punn research. Another 229 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1204, 1255, 1296, 1379, 1500, 1618, 1788, 1796, 1823, 1826, 1830, 1833, 1840 and 1860 are included under the topic Early Punn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Punn Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Punn have been found, including Bunn, Bun, Bon, Bonn, Bone, Bonne, Bunne and others.

Early Notables of the Punn family

Alfred Bunn (1796-1860), a prominent theatrical figure who served as joint manager of the Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres in London in the 1830s. Elliston gave him his first appointment as stage-manager of Drury Lane in 1823, when he was quite a young man; and he first obtained a certain celebrity as a manager by endeavouring some dozen years afterwards to establish an English Opera. In 1826 he was manager of the Birmingham Theatre, and in 1833 held the same post at Drury Lane and Covent Garden. For most of these operas Mr. Bunn himself furnished the libretto, which however...
Another 101 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Punn Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Punn migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become powerful new nations. Among early immigrants of the Punn surname to cross the Atlantic and come to North America were:

Punn Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Punn, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1651 4

Sources +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)