54,603 Global Humphrey Family Members

Humphrey Family History

This surname derives from the given name of an ancestor, Humphrey, and so it and the related version 'Humphreys', would orginally have meant 'son of Humphrey'.

It is believed that the personal 'Humfrey' was first introduced to Britain by the Normans after the invasion of 1066, and that it has Germanic roots, with the original elements 'hun' meaning 'bear cub' and 'frid' or 'fred' meaning 'peace'. The popularity of the 9th Century Bishop of Therouanne, St. Humfrey, may explain how the name came to be in favour during that time.

Some of the earliest written references to the name date from the 13th century, when the spelling varied a great deal, and included John Hunfray, Henry fil. Umfridi, Peter Umfry, and Richard Humfrey who all appear on the Oxfordshire Hundred Rolls of 1273.

In England, the surname has come to be associated more with the southern half of the country, in particular some eastern areas, including Berkshire, Norfolk, Surrey and Sussex, as well as counties which border Wales, such as Shropshire and Gloucestershire.

It was a well-known given name in Wales, and in the patronymic tradition of that country in many cases it developed into the Humphrey and Humphreys surname. Generally, it is more often found in north Wales rather than in the south. A popular version of the name in Wales was Wmffra, which was often used as a diminutive of the given name Humphrey, or a nickname for someone whose surname was Humphrey/Humphreys.

In Wales, surnames such as Humphrey/Humphreys began to be fixed as hereditary surnames much later than in England, generally between the 16th and the first half of the 19th century, depending on where in the country a family lived.

 

Notable people

• Barry Humphries (b. 1934), an Australian actor and comedian, best known for his on-stage characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.
• Arthur Charles Humphreys-Owen (1836–1905), a Liberal politician and MP for Montgomeryshire. He was the son of Erskine Humphreys, a barrister, and through his mother inherited the estates of the Owen family of Glansevern. He was a significant promoter of secondary and higher education in Wales and was a major figure in the establishment of the University of Wales.
• Hubert Humphrey (1865–1969), American Democratic politician who represented Minnesota in the US Senate, and who served as the 38th Vice President under Lyndon B Johnson between 1965 and 1969. Following his death he was succeeded as Minnesota Senator by his wife Muriel Humphrey.

 

SOURCES:

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Dictionary of Welsh Biography, National Library of Wales, https://biography.wales/

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy