Worner

This unusual and interesting name has two possible origins, the first being from a Norman personal name, 'Warnir' or 'Guarnier', introduced into England after the conquest of 1066. The name is composed of the Germanic elements 'war(in)', meaning 'guard', and 'heri' or 'han', meaning 'army'. The form 'Worner' is itself a Germanic variant of the surname 'Warner'. The second possible derivation is from the English topographial name 'Warrenes', often found contracted to 'Warner' and occasionally 'Worner', and meaning one who lived by a 'warren', a 'game-park', land preserved for rabbits, hares, pheasant etc. It could also be for one who worked in such a place. One Thomas Worner married Rose Walters on the 5th July 1651, Bruton in Somerset. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Warnier. which was dated 1196, The Dorsetshire Pipe Rolls. during the reign of King Richard I The Lionheart, 1189-1199 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.