This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the turner,' one who worked with a lathe. Lower quotes Mr. Ferguson as saying, 'Out of all proportion to the number of persons engaged in the trade'; also as suggesting that the name was in many cases baptismal and of Norman introduction. In a day that knew little of ornamental fictile vessels the turner would be busy enough, and the only wonder is that it is not, as a surname, as common as Smith. A glance at early registers will show how familiar the occupation was. Chaucer's Miller of Trumpington could 'turn cuppes.'

'There dwelled also turners of beads': Stow.

'Sponers, torners, and hatters.' - Cocke Lorelle's Bote.

To assert that Tumour is local from 'de Tour Noire,' the Black Castle (in Normandy, of course), is childish; and little better is Tourneour, a tilter. There is no evidence.

Aylbricht le Turnur, London, 1271. Hundred Rolls.

Geoffrey le Turner, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

William le Tumor, Oxfordshire, ibid.

Johannes Tumour, turnour, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

William le Tournour. Calendarium Rotulorum Originalium.

Henry le Tornour, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

1791. Married — George Tumor and Ann Eleanor Hanmer: St. George, Hanover Square.

From the occupation of 'turner,' a lathe-worker, once a familiar and skilled occupation. A family of this name had possession of the estate of Ardwall in the parish of New Abbey for many generations. Thomas dictus Tumour held land in Aberdeen in 1382 (RMS., I, 682), and John Turnoure held land in Irvine in 1426 (Irvine, I, p. 130). William Tumour, merchant of Scotland, had a safe conduct in England, 1473 (Bain, IV, 1411), and William Turnoure is recorded in Edinburgh, 1482 (CDE., 54). Johannes Tumour, tenant in Kynmonty, 1511 (REA., I, p. 372). Bartholomew Turnor appears in Dysart, 1554 (Dysart, p. 23), and Patrick Turner of Tullinaucht was heir of conquest of Alexander Turner of Kindroght, 1657 (Retours, Ayr, 495). An old surname in Aberdeenshire (seventeenth century) and common in Cowal in the eighteenth century. See Macinturner. Turneour 1659.

(Anglo-French-Latin & English) Lathe-Worker [Middle English t(o)urnour, t(o)urnur, t(o)urner; from Middle English t(o)urnen, French tourner (Latin tornare), to turn; and Old English turnian) Geoffrey le Turner.—Hund. Rolls, A.D. 1274 Aylbricht le Turnur.— do.

Will’us Tumour.—Inq. ad q. Damn., A.D. 1421-2.

Tourneur and Letourneur (rarely Le Tourneur) are common surnames in France.

(French - Latin) 1 One from Le Tourneur (Calvados, Norm.), A.D. 1155 Tourneor = (prob.) (the Place of) the Turner [French tourneur, a turner] 2 for the French Tournier = Tournament-Champion [French tournier, ‘champion de tournois, homme qui défie volontiers plusieurs combattants en champ clos’; i. tourner, Old French torner, Latin tornare, to turn]

See Under Turner.

The occupation. One of the most common of surnames-"out of all proportion," Mr. Ferguson alleges, "to the number of persons engaged in the trade" of the lathe. "We find it in fact," he continues, "as a name before the Conquest-a grant to the monastery of Croyland, in 1051, being signed, among others, by a Turnerus Capellanus. The Icelandic has turnera, turnamentum agere; turnari, a tilter-which may probably shew the origin of the name. As, however, the Turner in question was a bishop's chaplain, his "tilting" must have been only theological. But the name may probably have been baptismal, and perhaps of Norman introduction." p. 336. Le Turnur, Le Turner. H.R. See Turnour below.

Those who dislike the plebeian tournure of Turner have contrived to turn it into Turnour. To justify this twist, they allege that they "came in with the Conqueror," leaving behind them the Tour Noire, or black castle, from which, as its proprietors, they had derived their surname. However this may be, both the Map and the Itinerary of Normandy fail to indicate that redoubtable fortress. A far more probable origin is tourneour, the Norman French for one who took part in a tournament. In the celebrated Scrope and Grosvenor controversy respecting the right of bearing Azure, a bend Or, temp. Richard H. Sir William de Aton testifies, that Monsire le Scrope was, in his time, "le plus fort Toukneour de tout notre pays"

There is a tradition that this family derive their name from their ancient place of settlement in Normandy, which being a black castle, was called Le tour noir, whence the lords thereof were called Les Sires de Tournoir, and by contraction Tournor. One of the family went with William the Conqueror into England. It is probably the same as Turner, a name of trade, the orthography being changed.

Turner. —This name is distributed over the greater part of England, but is infrequent or absent in the north beyond Lancashire and Yorkshire. It is well represented in the midlands, especially in Derbyshire, Notts, and Staffordshire, and is also numerous in Lancashire. In the eastern counties it has its great centre in Suffolk and afterwards in Norfolk. In the south of England it is less frequent, but has two independent homes in Sussex and Devonshire. The prevalence of this name may probably be explained, as Bardsley suggests, by the circumstance that until the close of the 16th century, the "turner" made most of the best household vessels, such as mugs, jugs, etc., only those in rough and common use being made of clay. Since this name often prefers to gather in industrial counties, we are not surprised to find that it has its Scottish home in the Greenock and Glasgow districts, though it is not numerous.

Turner has several derivations, dating from antiquity to comparatively recent times. All of these derivations are occupational-in other words, stemming from some form of work or activity. In earlier times, when society was less complex, a man was what he did. Common examples of this are the names Archer, Shepherd, Hornblower and Goldsmith.

The earliest derivation of Turner (or Turnour, or Turnor) is from the Old French word ‘tournour’. This means ‘one who turns or fashions objects of wood, metal, bone, etc. on a lathe’. The reason there are so many Turners today is because in medieval times there was a great variety of objects which could be ‘turned’. Most frequently these were measures for wine and ale, or round pieces of wood for chairlegs. The lathes used by these turners bore little relation to the one you’ll find in a modern workshop, though the principle was the same. The ancient lathe almost certainly evolved originally from the potter’s wheel-although it’s thought unlikely that the names Turner and Potter were ever synonymous. In medieval times there was little call for rounded chairlegs, except amongst the gentry at The Hall.

The turners were a sub-branch of the trade of cabinet­makers, which included many carpentering skills whose practitioners took on the name of their skill. Hence the Turners were closely related (by trade at least) to the Carvers, Dishers (fashioners of wooden dishes) and Arkwrights (chest makers).

A secondary derivation of Turner is from the Old French word ‘tournoieur’ which meant ‘one who takes part in a tourney or tournament’. However, it’s likely that only very few modern Turners derive their name from this fine medieval pastime.

The last but probably the most intriguing derivation of the name Turner comes from the old word ‘turnehare’. In medieval times this was the man who ran after the hare and he literally ‘turned’ it into the path of the waiting hunters. Needless to say, these Turners (or Turnehares) had to be fast runners, and soon the name became synonymous with what we would term a sprinter. The name may also have had deroga­tory connotations. A Turnehare (the opposite of a Turnbull) was someone who only had sufficient courage to turn a hare (or perhaps run away like a hare). Turnpenny was a nickname for a miser.

The earliest Turner in the records is one Warner le Turnur, who appears in the 1180 Pipe Rolls for London.

The Worshipful Company of Turners, founded in England in 1604, is still a thriving guild of makers of lathe-turned wooden articles.

English soldier Sir Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner (1766—1843) brought the Rosetta Stone back from North Africa’s Alexandria.

Dating from the time of Ptolemy V (c. 195 BC), it is covered in inscriptions in Ancient Greek and both demotic and hieroglyphic Egyptian. His ability to decipher it unlocked the secrets of other inscriptions and led to an intensive study of Egyptian antiquity. The stone is now displayed in the British Museum.

Sixteenth-century botanist William Turner (1520—68) introduced scientific botany into England. The many plants he named include hawkweed and goatsbeard.

Joseph Mallord Turner (1775—1851) is generally acknowledged to be one of England’s greatest landscape painters. His impressionistic use of light and colour is world-famous. Celebrated and wealthy in his time, he died a virtual recluse leaving over 20,000 watercolours and 300 paintings to the nation.

One town in the United Kingdom is a namesake-Turner’s Hill. Australia has a town named Turner while the United States has 6 towns so named as well as a Turners Falls, Turnercrest, Turnersville and Turnerville. Given the popularity of the surname remarkably few geographic features are Turners. Australia does have a mountain and a river which are so named.

With about 167,000 namesakes Turner is the 23rd most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Turner is notably popular in and around Sheffield where an estimated one in about 255 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Bradford, Birmingham and Nottingham are other Turner strongholds. Around the world Turners are most common in Wellington (one in 607 families), Canberra (one in 639) and Auckland (one in 678). The United States has more Turners than the entire population of Coventry-an estimated total of just under 346,000 makes this their 46th most popular surname.