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Thorner History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Thorner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The origins of the Thorner name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived near a thorn bush or hedge. Thorner is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Other types of local surnames include topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. The surname Thorner comes from the Old English or Old Norse words which mean thorn. The surname Thorner may also be a habitational surname, for someone who came from a place named with this word, for example Thorne, in Somerset, or Thorns, in Suffolk. The Thorner family's origins date back to the period prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, to the county of Somerset, where they resided at Thorne-Falcon and Thorne-St. Nargaret.

Early Origins of the Thorner family

The surname Thorner was first found in Somerset at Thorn(e) St. Margaret, a parish, in the union of Wellington, hundred of Milverton, about 3½ miles (W.) from Wellington. 1 The place name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was first listed as Torne. 2

Some of the first records of the name include: Adam atte Thorne; and William de Thorn who were both listed in Kirby's Quest at the time of Edward III. 3 4 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 lists the following: Hugh Thorne in Cambridgeshire; and John de Thorn in Devon. 4

"At Thorne, [Devon] a family of that name were seated from the reign of King John till the early part of the seventeenth century. " 5

To confuse matters, another noted historian claims "the name is local, from Thornes in the parish of Shenstone, in the county of Stafford, where Robert, son of Roger de la Thorne, was resident early in the fourteenth century." 6 The integrity of this researcher bears no doubt.

However, we wish to have the reader note that this entry is significantly later that the previous entries and as such, in our opinion, is a later branch of the family. Great Thorness is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England.

Early History of the Thorner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thorner research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1206, 1272, 1275, 1296, 1397, 1527, 1568, 1573, 1610 and 1630 are included under the topic Early Thorner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thorner 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 Thorner were recorded, including Thorn, Thorne and others.

Early Notables of the Thorner family

Notables of the family at this time include John Thorne, Abbott of Reading, who was personally starved by King Henry VIII.William Thorne (fl. 1397), was an English historian, a monk of St. Augustine's, Canterbury and Robert Thorne (d. 1527), was an English merchant and geographical writer, the son...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Thorner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Thorner family to Ireland

Some of the Thorner family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thorner migration to the United States +

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 Thorner family emigrate to North America:

Thorner Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Thorner, aged 33, who arrived in Missouri in 1840 7
Heinrich Thorner, who arrived in Baltimore, Maryland in 1844 7
Caspar Thorner, aged 22, who settled in America, in 1893

Thorner Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Bernard F. Thorner, aged 50, who landed in America, in 1909
Bertha Thorner, aged 38, who immigrated to the United States, in 1909
Celie Thorner, aged 53, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
B. D. Thorner, aged 52, who settled in America, in 1911
Franz Thorner, aged 33, who immigrated to America, in 1923
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Thorner migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Thorner Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Charles Thorner, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Golden Sea" in 1874

Contemporary Notables of the name Thorner (post 1700) +

Samuel G. Thorner, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Massachusetts Governor's Council 2nd District, 1948 8
Daniel Thorner (1915-1974), American economist
Sally Thorner, retired American television news journalist who was a reporter and an anchor
Justus Thorner, American owner of the Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team (1882 to 1890)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, August 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html