Families of Essex
Colchester to Southend, the oldest recorded town in Britain, the Thames estuary, and the surname pool that fed London for centuries.
Tap a region of the map to see who held it.
Families seated in Essex
- GreenThe green, the common before it was a party colour.
- MasonThe operative mason.
- WebbThe weaver.
- WestThe west.
- LongThe long one.
- MartinThe saint's name, English and Norman registers alike.
- BakerThe baker, oven smoke in every market town.
- MillsBy the mill, wheels on every river.
- StoneThe stone, boundary-mark name.
- ReedThe marsh edge, or ruddy jest.
- ColemanColumban saint-name or Nicholas' man.
- MarshallThe stable office, court rank, surname for thousands.
- HarveyBreton battle-name, English orchard now.
- PalmerThe palm-bearer, pilgrimage turned patronymic.
- DayDavid, dairy, or daylight jest.
- CurtisThe courteous one, Norman manners joke.
- BushAmerican political dynasty, four generations of senators, governors and presidents.
- BurnhamThe homestead by the stream.
- LucasFrom Luke the Evangelist, a church name made surname.
Historic ties to Essex
Families with historic but not core ground here.
Champions made here
Famous bearers whose lives or work root in Essex.