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Origins
of the Name BEARNE
There
are a number of theories as to the origin of the name. Those we have
come across are set out below.
Please
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us with any additional versions you may have and we will happily add
them to the site.
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Old
English and Huguenot Theories - Source: Air Vice Marshall Guy Bearne
There
are two schools of thought regarding the origin of the name, one put forward
by the Genealogists and the other the family belief that the first BEARNES
were Huguenot refugees.
In support of their case, the Genealogists submitted the following:-
The surname BEARNE is derived from more than one source. One of these
is Old Norse barn "child" which is used in the Domesday
Book as a byname of men of the upper class and may also have had the
meaning "young man of a prominent family" (cf. The use of
Old English cild "child"). A second source is the Scandinavian
personal mane Biorn or the Old English Beorn "warrior",
whilst a third possibility is Old English bere-aern (literally "barley-place).
Once everyone was known by a single name. As the population increased,
people traveled and mixed, found others of the same name and overcame
the confusion by taking an extra name to identify themselves. These
were adopted in accordance with fairly general principles. Thus a
man named John who was a youngest child, a minor at the time of his
parents' death or a young man of important family might be known as
"John (the) Barn" in order to distinguish him from others
of the same Christian name; whilst William whose father was Beorn
might be dubbed "William (son of) Beorn"; and Henry who
lived near or worked at a barn, "Henry (of or at the) Barn".
In the course of time, the additional appellation became hereditary
as a surname, ceasing to have any reference to the bearer's personal
characteristics, immediate ancestry or place of residence or employment.
Early records mention Thirne Beorn who appears in a Yorkshire charter
circa 1050; Siuuard Barn, in the Warwickshire Domesday Book of 1086;
Siuuard Bearn, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1071; Tomas filius
Bern', in Staffordshire Pipe Rolls in 1177; William Bern, in Worcestershire
Pipe Rolls in 1190; Eilwin de la Berne of Surrey in Curia Regis Rolls
of 1211; William le Berne, of Lincolnshire, in Patent Rolls of 1232;
and Peter del Barne, in Yorkshire Manor Court Rolls in 1316.
A George Barne was Mayor of Tavistock in the 16th Century and another
Sir George Barne, possibly his son, was Lord Mayor of London in 1587.
While it is noteworthy that none of the names mentioned above are spelled
BEARNE, it should be remembered that until Dr Samuel Johnson started
his Dictionary in 1747, there was no recognised method of spelling.
The first instance the Genealogists found of the correct spelling was
in 1642 when Eliza, daughter of Peter Bearne, was married.
Notwithstanding
all the forgoing, there is still a possibility that the family are of
Huguenot ancestry since the name is found in France and the Bearnes
were non-conformists in the 18th Century. However, a search of the denization
records and the listings of the Huguenot families known in South Devon
has, so far, failed to establish any link. It is, of course, possible
that some Bearnes came over from France before the Huguenot refugees.
NOTES:
Pipe Roll
- In this was recorded the accounts of the revenue collected by the County
Sheriff. The first known dates from the 12th Century.
Curia Regis - The kings council established at the Norman Conquest.
French
Origins - Source: Jennifer Matthews (nee Bearne)
The
popular use of surnames began in the early Middle Ages during the 10th
and 11th Centuries. The development of the feudal system made it imperative
that each individual should be easily identified, any description that
clearly identified the individual was acceptable. The gentry were among
the first to adopt hereditary surnames.
The French surname Bearne is local in origin. Local surnames were derived
from the place where a person once lived, or a prominent local geographical
feature, perhaps a hill identified one person from another who lived
near a bridge, river or lake. Many of these names were preceded by a
preposition such as 'de', 'at', 'by' or 'in'. These tended to lapse
in the later years. Here, it would seem that the original bearer of
this name came from the French Viscountship of Bearn, situated in the
southern area of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, along the Spanish border.
This ancient territory passed through the hands of the Houses of Foix,
Albret and Bourbon, before being reunited with France upon the coronation
of Henry IV in 1589. Thus, in early times prior to the establishment
of a formal system or hereditary surnames, an inhabitant of this particular
part of the region would have referred, in this way, to the region from
which he hailed so as to give himself an immediate identity, and to
distinguish himself from numbers of people bearing the same personal
name. Early bearers of the name include Counts of Bearn, and members
of the Old French Nobility.
Hereditary surnames existed mainly among the Nobleman during the 12th
Century. This practice within the general population began to develop
during the following century, the most popular form of name at that
time were nicknames and local names, as the need developed these descriptive
names were often adopted as hereditary surnames.
Blazon
on Arms: Or two cows passant gules, collared, horned, an belled
azure, in pale.
Crest:
A cow as in the arms.
Origin: France
Source: Jennifer Matthews (nee Bearne)
From a Family History 'Shop' in Canada, 1992
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The
Huguenot Link Again!- Source: Valerie Bearne
"My
understanding of the family history is that three Huguenot brothers
fled from Catholic persecution in Bearne in France, probably in the
mid 1600s, and sailed up the Teign, landing at Newton Abbot. From there
Bearnes spread across to Plymouth and that any Bearne in this country
is a relation, however distant."
Another
Version of the Huguenot Link!- Source: Glenice Maggs (nee Bearne)
"My
brother has researched our family tree. We apparently arrived in England
from France with the Huguenots at the end of the 19th Century and settled
in Newton Abbott. We are not on the official list of Huguenots and therefore
do not know the reason for our arrival. We must have had money in those
days as the family grave is quite impressive and there is a Street Garage
and school named after us."
Source: Glenice Maggs (nee Bearne)
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More
Evidence for The French Connection -
Source: Annie Pithers
The Bearnes in Newton were mainly Peters and Hughs.
It was no uncommon thing to find 2 or 3 Peters and similar number
Hughs among brothers, that was the more ignorant of them. in the main
they were of royal Blood and came from France as refugees called DeBerne.
3 brothers came over the offspring of them were all antagonistic to
each other 2 men were peaceful Righteous albeit proud. The 3rd had
married a D'Arcy and so proud were the haughty descendants of that
couple that when the name was changed to Bearne they stuck to the
mother's maiden name of D'ARCY.
Source:
From Letter, Annie Pithers to John Angel
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