Sor History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Sor was first found in Dorset where John and Roger de Sor were listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1195. 1

The name could have also been a nickname as in " 'the sor,' the sore, the susceptible to wounded feelings, the sensitive. But much more probably one of the endless nicknames from the complexion of the hair, from Old French sor, the diminutive of which was Sorel, a reddish-brown, hence a favourite name for a horse. " 2

After the first listing in Dorset, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Elena la Sore in Somerset 2 and Kirby's Quest noted: "Matheu le Sore, Close Rolls, 26 Edward III; Philip le Soor, Somerset, 1 Edward III; and Roger le Sor, Somerset, 1 Edward III. " 3 All three entries were "1 Edward III" or in other words, "in the first year of King Edward III's reign."

One source notes that the name was a "location name in Lincolnshire," 4 but we can find no such listing. And another source notes that it was "a river in Leicestershire," 5 but again, we can find no such river.

Variants of the name are somewhat universal in that they can be found in France, Portugal and Romania. The Soare variant is a fairly popular Romanian name and Soares is often of Portuguese descent. And, Raoul II (died 1282), called Sores or d'Estrée, was the marshal of France briefly in 1270. Accordingly, each of these names would have a different origin.