Payne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient Normans that arrived in England following the Conquest of 1066 are the initial ancestors from which the many generations of the Payne family have grown. The name Payne was given to a member of the family who was a person who lives in the country or a person who’s religious beliefs are somewhat suspect. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Old English word paien, which was originally derived from the Latin word paganus, meaning rustic or countryman. It later also came to mean heathen and was often given to children whose baptism was delayed or, to adults whose religious zeal was not what the standards of the day indicated it should have been.

Conversely, many believe that the family claim Norman descent as in “Paganus was a Norman personal name, whence the modern Payne and Paine, as well as the more ancient Paganel and Paynel. William the Conqueror was assisted in his invasion, by several persons so designated, and in [the] Domesday Book we find among his tenants in capite, or chief holders of land, the names of Ralph Paganel and Edmund filius Pagani, i.e., Fitz-Payne. Indeed during the Norman dynasty, Paganus was one of the most common names in England.” 1

Early Origins of the Payne family

The surname Payne was first found in Somerset where the aforementioned Edmund filius Pagen (Pagani) 2 was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. The same source also lists the aforementioned Ralph Paganel as Radulfus Paganus, again in Somerset. 2

Almost one hundred years later, Reginaldus filius Pain was listed as a Knights Templar in 1185 in Lincolnshire. The Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire list John Pane in 1190 and the Pipe Rolls of Hampshire list Robert Pain in 1200. Payn de Weston was listed in the Assize Rolls of Somerset in 1268. 3

Sir John Paynell of Drax, from Yorkshire was summoned to Parliament as a Baron from the 29th of December 1299 to the 25th of August 1318. 4 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 have numerous entries as a forename and surname including: Payne de Stantin in Norfolk; Robert filius Payn in Huntingdonshire; and Gilbert Payn in Essex. 5

The parish of Stourpain in Dorset “derives its name from its situation near the river Stour, which runs on the west and south, and from one of its earliest proprietors, named Paine.” 6 “A priory of Black canons, in honour of St. James, was founded here [in Warter in the East Riding of Yorkshire] in 1132, by Geoffry Fitz-Pain.” 6

“It is however, remarkable that a colony of Paynes has been established across the Scottish border in Dumfriesshire. ” 7