WOOLNER
Woolner is a surname of English origin. It derives from the Old English word wulf, meaning "wolf", combined with the suffix -ner, which denotes a person associated with or connected to something.
From this construction the name can be interpreted as "wolf-like" or "related to wolves". The original bearer of the name was likely someone who displayed attributes typically associated with a wolf, such as fierceness or cunning.
The surname also has its roots in an Anglo‑Saxon personal name, Wulfnoth, recorded in Middle English as Wo(o)lnoth, Wulnod and Wulnaugh. This personal name is formed from the Old English elements wulf, "wolf", and noth, meaning "bravery" or "daring"; hence the meaning "wolf‑daring".
The usage of this personal name continued into the early fourteenth century and is mainly evidenced in East Anglian counties. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the name appears as Wlnod, Vlnoth and Vlnoht. Subsequent documentary evidence includes Robert Wolthnoth in the 1327 Suffolk Subsidy Rolls and Thomas Wolnoth in the Suffolk Feet of Fines of 1348.
During the sixteenth century the surname produced a variety of spellings, including Woolner, Woolnoth, Wollnough, and Wolfner. The final er of Woolner and Wolfner reflects the pronunciation of an unaccented nough.
Church register entries further document the surname. The marriage of Agnes Wolnor to Robert Page is recorded on 6th October 1567 at Knettishall, Suffolk. The christening of Margery, daughter of Peeter Woolnar, took place at St. Stephen's, Coleman Street, London, on 6th December 1569. In 1586 John Woolner married Catherine Hanfane in Suston, Suffolk.
The earliest surviving recording of the family name appears in the Charters of Ely of 1221, when William Wulnoth is mentioned during the reign of King Henry the Frenchman (1216‑1272). This document provides the earliest known spelling of the name in the English medieval record.
Typical given names associated with the Woolner surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- Gordon
- John
- Leslie
- Mark
- Martyn
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
- Stephen
- Tim
Female
- Catherine
- Doris
- Emma
- Karen
- Kathryn
- Mary
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Rachel
- 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 Woolner in...
Braille
⠺⠕⠕⠇⠝⠑⠗
Morse
.--------.-..-...-.
Semaphore
There are approximately 714 people named Woolner in the UK. That makes it roughly the 9,561st most common surname in Britain. Around 11 in a million people in Britain are named Woolner.
Famous people named Woolner
- Thomas Woolner - Poet and sculptor (1825 to 1892)
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.