Sumner
An occupational surname for a summoner or ecclesiastical court officer.
The #1,909 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,390 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Sumner comes from Middle English forms such as sumenor and somonour, ultimately from Anglo-French and Old French words for a person who summons. The root goes back to Latin summonere, meaning “to remind secretly” or “to call up,” which in medieval usage developed into “to summon.” In surname form, it referred to an officer who brought people before an ecclesiastical or manorial court.
History
This surname is well attested in medieval and later English records, and it often appears alongside the variant Somner or Somoner. The occupation was important in the legal and church administration of medieval England, so the name spread as a hereditary surname among people connected with that office. Lower explicitly notes a Lancashire form, Sunner, as a corruption of Sumner or Somner.
Origin
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Fun fact
Older sources sometimes gloss the name as the “ecclesiastical-court officer,” which is a useful reminder that surnames often preserve forgotten medieval jobs.
From the historical record
“SUMMERVILLE = Somepville, q.v. SUMNER ] (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Summoner, Appa- SUMNOR \ ritor, Ecclesiastical-Court SUMPNErJ Officer [M.E. sumenor, som{p)nour, somonour, etc., A.-Fr. somenour, etc. i f. O.Fr. som(m)oner, to summon, Lat. summonere, to remind secretly]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)