BONNEY
Bonney is a surname of dual linguistic heritage, arising in both English and French contexts. The form derives from the Old French word bon, meaning “good’’ or, in a more figurative sense, “handsome.’’ As a surname it could have originated as a nickname awarded to an attractive or virtuous individual, or as a locational surname referring to a person residing near a place named Bonney or Bonny. The dual etymology accounts for its presence across the British Isles and in France.
The earliest documented instance of the surname dates to 1273, recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Oxford during the reign of King Edward I. The entry concerns an individual named Agnes Bonye, demonstrating the name’s existence in medieval England. Subsequent records from 1379 in the Yorkshire and Lancashire Poll Tax registers list names such as Johannas Bunnay and Agnes Bonney in Yorkshire, confirming the surname’s concentration in that region during the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. By the mid‑sixteenth century, the name appears in London church registers, for example the christening of Joane, daughter of Michaell Bonney, on 22 May 1587 at St. Giles’ Cripplegate.
In Scotland the personal name Bonnie remains in use, and a rare surname such as Bon
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Typical given names associated with the Bonney surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Stephen
- William
Female
- Anne
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Gemma
- Joanne
- Laura
- Lisa
- Lucy
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Bonney in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 2,070 people named Bonney in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,098th most common surname in Britain. Around 32 in a million people in Britain are named Bonney.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Bonney
- Richard Bonney - Historian (1947 to 2017)
- Emma Bonney - Snooker player
- Thomas George Bonney - Geologist (1833 to 1923)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.