Show ContentsSpar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Spar family

The surname Spar was first found in Norfolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, [1] indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the village and lands of Sparham, held by Osbert from Robert Gernon, a Norman Baron, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Spar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Spar research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1175, 1273, 1354 and 1448 are included under the topic Early Spar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spar Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Sparham, Spareham, Sparam, Sparum, Sparem and others.

Early Notables of the Spar family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • the Sparham family of Norfolk


United States Spar migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Spar Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Hans Ulrich Spar, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1749 [2]
  • Heinrich Spar, who landed in America in 1749 [2]
Spar Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Salome Spar, who arrived in New York in 1856 [2]

Contemporary Notables of the name Spar (post 1700) +

  • Debora L. Spar, American President of Barnard College, New York City


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. 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)


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