Soons History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins and Etymology of Soons

The surname Soons was first found in Suffolk where Earl Soham dates back to the Domesday Book 1 as lands held by Count Alan. At that time a manor was listed on four carucates of land. Some of the family remained in Normandy as Radulphus Sone was listed there in a census conducted 1180-95. 2

The same census also listed a R. Sone or Sonne in 1198. The name literally means " homestead by the pool" when translated from the Old English sae + ham.

Soham is also a small town in Cambridgeshire that has a similar lineage that dates back to before the Domesday Book. For it is here that Saegham was listed c. 1100.3

But the name dates back further; Luttingus, a Saxon nobleman built a cathedral and palace at Soham around 900 AD, on the site of the present day Church of St. Andrews.

Early History of the Soons family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Soons research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1540, 1575, 1584, 1598, 1601, 1619, 1640, 1648, 1671 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Soons History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Soons Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Soons are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Soons include Soam, Soams, Soames, Somes, Soame, Soan, Soanes and others.

Early Notables of the Soons family

Sir Stephen Soame (c.1540-1619), an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601, Lord Mayor of London in 1598; Sir Peter Soam, Lord of the Manor of Berkesden, county Suffolk; Sir Thomas Soame (1584-1671), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Soons Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Soons family

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Soons, or a variant listed above: Sarah Somes who landed in New England in 1745; Thomas Somes settled in Virginia in 1727; Mary Soanes settled in Virginia in 1635; John Soance settled in New Haven Conn. in 1630..

Contemporary Notables of the name Soons (post 1700) +

Jane Margaret Soons (1931-2020), New Zealand geomorphologist from Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire

Sources +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)