FANNER
Fanner is an English surname with origins in the British Isles, specifically England. The name has historically been borne by Christian families and is typically represented in written form as Fanner in modern records.
The surname is classically understood as an occupational name. It derives from the Middle English word fannere, which means a winnower. The individual so named would have operated a fan or winnowing machine, a device employed in the separation of grain from the chaff. This agricultural task was essential in medieval rural economies, and the occupational surname therefore identifies a person who practised this function.
Earlier etymological examinations also locate the word in Anglo‑Saxon times, where it appears as fann, meaning to fan or winnow. From this root a surname could denote a person involved in lactic processing of grain or in the disinfestation of crushed metalliferous rock. Such job‑descriptive surnames were first given to the wearer of the occupation and later became hereditary.
In certain instances the name may have developed from a topographical source. The Anglo‑Saxon element fenn, meaning marsh or bog, could have yielded an East Saxon form referring to a dweller by a marsh. This would place the surname among the earliest types of topographical distinctions used in small medieval communities to differentiate inhabitants by the natural or man‑made features of the landscape.
Recorded variants of the name include Vannar, Vanner and Vannah. The earliest known spelling appears in the witness list for an individual named William le Fanmer in the 1285 Assize Court Rolls of Essex, during the reign of Edward I. Subsequent documented occurrences include John Fanner in Wiltshire in 1562 and Edmund Fanner, christened on 5 November 1595 at St. Mary's, Whitechapel, Stepney, London.
A coat of arms has been associated with the Fanner family. It is described as a gold chevron situated between three gold leopard's faces on a red shield, with the crest comprising a gold buck's head emerging from a gold ducal coronet. This heraldic device would have been granted to a recognized member of the family during the early modern period.
Typical given names associated with the Fanner surname
Male
- Antony
- Ashley
- David
- Graeme
- James
- John
- Kit
- Mark
- Michael
- Nigel
- Peter
- Robert
- Robin
Female
- Avril
- Cecilia
- Clare
- Deborah
- Evelyn
- Joanne
- Kate
- Lindsey
- Margaret
- Priscilla
- Sarah
- Sheila
- Sonja
- Stephanie
Similar and related surnames
- Fanara
- Faner
- Fainer
- Fanar
- Fanaru
- Fanari
- Fainaru
- Fangher
- Fannar
- Fanneran
- Fannery
- Fannier
- Fannor
- Fayner
- Feener
- Feiner
- Fener
- Fenier
- Fennar
- Fenner
- Fennier
- Fennor
- Pfanner
- Vagner
- Vainer
- Vaner
- Vanier
- Vanner
- Vannier
- Vayner
- Vennear
- Venner
- Fanlkner
- Fannel
- Fauner
- Fehners
- Vanar
- Veener
- Veiner
- Vener
- Venere
- Venier
- Venneri
- Venners
- Vennor
- Viener
- Finner
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Fanner in...
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Morse
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There are approximately 205 people named Fanner in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around three in a million people in Britain are named Fanner.
Surname type: Occupational name
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
