Warrior

Recorded in the spellings of Warrior, Warrier, and Wharrier, this is an English surname but of French or Norman-French origins. It was introduced after the 1066 Norman conquest, but how much later is not proven. It may be that the surname is associated with the 'Crusades' to the Holy Land from the 11th century onwards, when successive expeditions of limited or no success were launched by various kings. As a result of several centuries of military effort, many 'new' surnames were created from the habitual use of what in effect were nicknames, and this is probably one of them. The surname clearly describes a person who had the attributes of a warrior, but whether this was an actual description of a soldier or whether the name was sardonic for a 'belligerent' person, as may be implied by the first known recording of the name (see below), is by no means clear from the early recordings. Examples of these recordings include Jordan Le Werreur, in the pipe rolls of the county of Hereford for the year 1230, in the reign of King Henry 111 of England, and Thomas Werreor in the rolls known as the 'London Pleas' in 1324 in the reign of King Edward 11. The coat of arms is ancient and distinctive being a red field, charged with a single silver lure. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Herbert le Werreur, which was dated 1202, in the Assize Rolls of the county of Lancashire, during the reign of King John of England, known as 'Lackland', 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.