Seymour

Seymour is an old and distinguished surname originating with a Norman-French family transplanted to England after the Conquest of 1066. As a location-based surname, Seymour developed from Saint-Maur – a small commune in Northern France – which was named after St. Maur (Latin: Maurus). The surname would have been given to those who originally hailed from the small town and relocated to England (for identification purposes). St. Maurus was a 6th century saint and one of the earliest disciples of St. Benedict; he is best known for establishing the first Benedictine monastery in Gaul (present day France). As a result, Saint Maur (as he’s referred to in France) was a popular saint among the medieval French people and many communes throughout France were named after him. St. Maur is also remembered for rescuing a fellow Benedictine monk (St. Placid) from drowning by miraculously running across the surface of a lake. The Latin Maurus basically means “Moor” (a description of the ancient Mauri people of the then-Roman province in northwestern Africa). Maurus is most likely borrowed from a Greek word meaning “dark-skinned” (a descriptive adjective of the Moors). Other names which also derive themselves from Maurus are Moe, Morris, Maurice, Moritz and Mauricio. Seymour, however, developed as a surname specifically in reference to Saint-Maur. The first evidence of the surname appeared in writing in the mid 12th century and was originally rendered “de Sancto Mauro” (later Seimor and Seymor). The Seymour family who arrived to England from Saint-Maur on the heels of William the Conqueror would a few centuries later hold the title of Dukes of Somerset thanks to the generous favors afforded them by King Henry VIII whose third and most favorite wife was a Seymour (Jane Seymour – the only wife to bear the King a male heir beyond infancy).