St.John

St.John One-Name Study

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Study details

Study: St.john

Variants: Saintjohn, Sinjen, Sinjon

Category: 1 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is in its early stages.

Contact: Mrs Shirley Smith

About the study

I began this study in 2005 as a result of my St. John family connections. I have a spreadsheet showing St.John births from 1837 - 1920 which I am happy to give information from. I intend to update this on a regular basis. I also have information about many St.Johns, which I have gathered from a variety of sources. Again, I am happy to pass on any information.

Variant names

Sinjun, St.Jean, Seynt John, Stjohn, Seint John, Sent John. I am also including double-barrelled names which include St.John (ie St.John-Maidment), and St.Johnston.

Name origin

The St.John Polyptych at Lydiard Tregoze began with John de St.John who is believed to have come to England with William the Conqueror but there is no evidence that anyone by that name did so. There is no record of any St.John in the Doomsday records. The St.John name's origin can be traced back to St.Jean-le-Thomas in Normandy and the de Port family originate from Port de Bessin in Normandy. This goes back to 9th Century when Normandy was still more Viking and not French.

Historical occurrences of the name

Adam de Port's son, William, used his maternal grandmother's surname of St.John in around 1205. She was Adam's mother-in-law. Hugh de Port, Adam's great grandfather, was part of William 1's conquering force and he was rewarded by the gift of Basing, Hants, and other lands. There were 12th century St.Johns living as Lord Stantons of Oxford and their strong-hold is now called Stanton St.John. They are buried in the church.

Name frequency

There are 874 names registered between 1837 and 1920 inclusive.

Distribution of the name

I have found 'pockets' of the name St.John in areas of London, Isle of Wight, Lymington, Lydiard Tregoze (Swindon, Wilts), and Bedfordshire.

Data

This study is in its infancy, so I welcome any information (however obscure) relating to the St.John name. Many thanks to Sonia St.John for her help in setting up this page.

Contact Details

Mrs Shirley Smith

General Search Results

Occurrences of the surname St.john in the Guild Indexes

(Click on the number to view the search results in each index. Indexes marked by * are only accessible by logged in Guild members.)

The Inscriptions Index* 1
Members' Data Stores in which the name St.john appears* 1

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