Show ContentsTorun History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Torun is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived near a thorn bush or hedge. Torun 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 Torun comes from the Old English or Old Norse words which mean thorn. The surname Torun 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 Torun 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 Torun family

The surname Torun 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 Torun family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Torun 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 Torun History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Torun Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Torun family name include Thorn, Thorne and others.

Early Notables of the Torun 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 Torun Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Torun family to Ireland

Some of the Torun 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.


United States Torun migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Torun surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Torun Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Finley Torun, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1846 7


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. 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.
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
  6. Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
  7. 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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