The origins of the Steans name lie with England's ancient
Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in the parish of Staines in the counties of Middlesex and
Surrey. The latter appears in the
Domesday Book [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) as "Stanes" derived from the Old English word "stan" and meant "place at the stones".
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) One of the first records of the name was Sir William Staine who married into the Yarboroughs of Heslington Hall about the year 1100.
Early Origins of the Steans family
The surname Steans was first found in
Yorkshire where they may have given their name to a number of places in
Yorkshire including several Staintons, Stainland, Stainforth or Stainburn. Staines-upon-Thames, commonly referred to simply as Staines, is a town on the River Thames in the borough of Spelthorne in
Surrey (in the historic county of Middlesex.) Early records also revealed Richard of Staines (or Richard de Stanes) (d. 1277), a English clerical judge who acted as an Itinerant Justice, then was appointed justice of the Court of King's Bench in 1209 and finally Lord Chief Justice in 1269.
Early History of the Steans family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Steans research.
Another 157 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1725, 1613, 1665 and 1640 are included under the topic Early Steans History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Steans Spelling Variations
Before the last few
hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason,
spelling variations are commonly found in early
Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Steans were recorded, including Stain, Staine, Staines, Stane, Stanes, Stayn and others.
Early Notables of the Steans family (pre 1700)
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Steans Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Steans family to the New World and Oceana
To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from
England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Steans family emigrate to North America: Ruth Staines who settled in Barbados in 1691; William and Mary Staines settled in Maryland in 1775; Charles Staines settled in North Carolina in 1674.