Turner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Turner

What does the name Turner mean?

Turner is a name that came to England in the 11th century wave of migration that was set off by the Norman Conquest of 1066. Turner is a name for a lathe worker. The surname Turner was originally derived from the Old French verb tourneour, meaning to turn on a lathe. Such a craftsman would have fashioned basically cylindrical objects out of wood, metal, and bone. 1

Early Origins of the Turner family

The surname Turner was first found in Oxfordshire in midland England but was found throughout England. “It is well represented in the midlands, especially in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire, and is also numerous in Lancashire.” 2 Mark Antony Lower in his source Patronymica Britannica suggests that the name is all “out of all proportion, to the number of persons engaged in the trade” of the lathe. He argues that the family may have first appeared before the Conquest in a grant to the monastery of Croyland, in 1051, being signed, among others, by a Turnerus Capellanus. 3 Moreover, the family was also quite numerous in Scotland from early times.

The Hundredorum Rolls list: Aylbricht le Turnur in London in 1271; Geoffrey le Turner in Cambridgeshire; and William le Tumor in Oxfordshire. The latter two listings were probably made in 1273. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Johannes Tumour, turnour. Ironically there are very few listings in the early rolls of the trade. Calendarium Rotulorum Originalium listed William le Tournour and Kirby’s Quest listed Henry le Tornour in Somerset during the first year of Edward III reign. 4 1

In Scotland, “a family of this name had possession of the estate of Ardwall in the parish of New Abbey for many generations.” 5 Black continues Thomas dictus Tumour held land in Aberdeen in 1382; John Turnoure held land in Irvine in 1426; William Tumour, merchant of Scotland, had a safe conduct in England, 1473; William Turnoure is recorded in Edinburgh, 1482.

Turner Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person’s name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Turner family name include Turner, Turnerus, Turnor, Turnour, Turnoure and many more.

Early Notables of the Turner family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

• Cyril Tourneur, Turnour or Turner (1575?-1626), English dramatist, born about 1575, probably a near relative and possibly the son of Captain Richard Turnor or Turner
• Sir Timothy Turner SL JP (1585-1677), an English judge
• Thomas Turner (1591-1672), an English Royalist churchman and Dean of Canterbury
• Francis Turner D.D. (c. 1638-1700), English Bishop of Ely, one of the seven bishops who petitioned against the Declaration of Indulgence and one of the nine bishops who refused to take the oath of all…
• Thomas Turner (1645-1714), an English churchman and academic, Archdeacon of Essex and President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford (1688-1714)
• his father bought the Kirkleatham Estate and built Kirkleatham Hall in 1623. Sir Edward Turner, 1st Baronet (1691-1735) was an 18th-century investor, landowner and baronet