LATTIMORE
Lattimore is a surname with roots firmly planted within the English Isles. It is traditionally associated with the country of England, where early records place it among Christian families in the medieval period.
The patronymic derivation of the name stems from the Old English personal name Leofhelm, a compound of leof meaning “dear” and helm meaning “helmet”. In this sense the surname originally signified the descendants of an individual bearing that name.
Another lineage is traced to the Norman influence after the Conquest of 1066. The name was first taken from the Old French word latinier – “speaker of Latin” – and, in its Latinised Latin form latimaris, denoted a clerk or keeper of records. The occupation was vital, for Latin was the language of official documents in the Middle Ages. The Domesday Book of 1086 records the surname in Essex as Ralph Latimarus and in Hampshire as Hugo Latinarius, Interpres.
A prominent bearer of the variation Latimer was the Protestant Bishop Hugh Latimer (1485‑1555), who was executed at the stake on 1 May 1555 for heresy during the reign of Queen Mary. The name also appears in early London church registers, such as the 1548 christening of Josua Latimer at St. Lawrence Pountney.
Alternatively, the surname may have been derived from the geographical descriptor lathe – a local term for a subdivision of a county – combined with the Old English word mere meaning “lake” or “pool”. Such a formation is connected with a place called Latimer in Buckinghamshire. In this view the name could have meant “dweller by the lake”. The notable family bearers’ coat of arms, granted in the reign of Edward I (1272‑1307), features a red shield bearing a gold cross patonce and four black escallops.
The surname also carries an Irish Gaelic heritage. Originally an anglicised form of O Laithimh – a patronym meaning “orator” or “spokesman” – it spread across English‑speaking regions. In the United States the name is found most frequently in the states of North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia. It remains relatively uncommon, despite its presence in Canada, Australia and other parts of the British Commonwealth.
Over the centuries a variety of spellings have been recorded. Common variants include Latimore, Latimor, Lattimor, Lattimer, Latimer, Lattemore and Lattamore. The absence of standardised spelling in earlier documents often led scribes to copy names phonetically, accounting for these differences.
Typical given names associated with the Lattimore surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- Colin
- David
- Gary
- Gavin
- James
- John
- Paul
- Philip
- Robert
- Stephen
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Angela
- Clare
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Felicity
- Jean
- Julie
- Louise
- Mary
- Maureen
- Michelle
- Sarah
- Sharon
- 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 Lattimore in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 634 people named Lattimore in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around ten in a million people in Britain are named Lattimore.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Lattimore
- Norine Fournier Lattimore - Artists' model (1894 to 1934)
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.