Nester History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Nester family

The surname Nester was first found in Sussex where the Pipe Rolls of 1185 list as a forename, Nest de Barri. The same rolls list as a surname, Adam Nest in Dorset. Years later, the name Nesta was found in the Assize Rolls for Worcester in 1221 and the Curia Regis Rolls for Oxfordshire in 1222. Nesta de Broketon was found in the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire in 1254 and Richard Neste was in the Subsidy Rolls for Essex in 1327. The name may be a Welsh diminutive of the name Agnes as James Nest occurs in the Registrar-General's List of Names. 1

Yorkshire records revealed William Neste as holding lands there in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 2

The Nestor and Nester variants are generally thought to be Irish, having derived from the the Gaelic Mac Girr an Adhastair, meaning son of the short man of the bridle. The surname is most common in County Galway and County Clare. 3

Early History of the Nester family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nester research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1455 and 1487 are included under the topic Early Nester History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nester Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Nester has undergone many spelling variations, including Ness, Nest, Nessi, Nas, Nassi, Nesti, Nass, Noss, Nestor and many more.

Early Notables of the Nester family

More information is included under the topic Early Nester Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nester Ranking

In the United States, the name Nester is the 6,023^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Nester migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Nester were among those contributors:

Nester Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Elias Nester, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 5

Nester Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Nester, who arrived in New York in 1847 5
Lesethe Nester, aged 27, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 5
James Nester, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1869 5
Austin Nester, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1871 5
Bernard Nester, aged 27, who immigrated to the United States from Dublin, in 1892
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Nester Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Lillian Nevins Nester, aged 32, who settled in America, in 1907
M.J. Nester, aged 39, who landed in America, in 1910
Byron M. Nester, who landed in America, in 1910
Bertha Nester, aged 29, who settled in America, in 1910
Alfred Tyrrell Nester, aged 19, who settled in America, in 1917
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Nester (post 1700) +

William Nester, American author and historian, best known for his book The Epic Battles of the Ticonderoga, 1758 published in 2008
Daniel Murlin Nester (b. 1968), American writer, editor, and poet
Timothy Nester, American politician, Mayor of Marquette, Michigan, 1887 6
Holly Nester, American Republican politician, Chair of Calhoun County Republican Party, 1952-54 6
Alfred Tyrrell Nester (b. 1898), American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Naples, 1921-24; U.S. Consul in Naples, 1926-30; Cardiff, 1930; Tunis, 1932; Palermo, 1933-38 6

Sources +

Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html