Fleming
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Fleming Surname Genealogy
Fleming is a surname in English-speaking countries. It usually points to an ancestral origin in and emigration from Flanders. There were extensive ties between Flanders and the British Isles during the Middle Ages, with numerous Flemings arriving as merchants or weavers. At this time Flanders was the hub of the European textile trade and many Flemings were offered incentives to set up their trade here, particuilarly in Scotland. Some of this emigration happened so long ago that the name has been retained while the ethnic connection has been lost.
An alternative spelling of the surname is Flemming. The Irish Gaelic name is Pleimeann. German variants include Flaming, Flahming, and Flehmig; Dutch variants Vlaming and Vlaaderen. The Flemings of Louhisaari were a Swedish noble family whose forebears had migrated to Swedish-ruled Finland.
Scotland. The Flemish influx into Scotland began when they were driven out of England as alien traders by Henry II in the 12th century. They set themselves up in the wool trade on the Scottish borders, first at Berwick and later at Dumfries. Other Flemings were influential in Lanarkshire. Robert Fleming was a supporter of Robert the Bruce and his son Malcolm was made the Earl of Wigton. Flemings from this family were appointed Lord High Chamberlains of Scotland and were later close to Mary, Queen of Scots. This line died out in Scotland in the 18th century. Another Fleming family from Stonehouse in Lanarkshire has descendants today in Canada and New Zealand.
The Fleming surname has cropped up in various other places in Scotland. There was the Laird Cragganfearn Fleming in Perthshire. David Fleming was an 18th century Glasgow merchant whose descendants were graziers in Australia. Robert Fleming started out as a jute baron in Dundee in the 1880's and set up his own international merchant bank in London. His grandson was Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books.
England. In England, the Fleming name was mainly to be found in the north, in particular in what is now Cumbria. These may well have been early Flemish settlers. The le Fleming seat for many centuries was Rydal Hall in the Lake District (the family history is recounted in Ann Galbraith's The Fleming Family of Rydal Hall). This family emigrated to New Zealand in the 1850's. A Fleming family from Wath near Rotherham in the West Riding of Yorkshire dates from Reiner Fleming in the 12th century. This family produced Richard Fleming, the Bishop of Lincoln in 1419. They too have long departed the scene. Flemings in Lancashire are more likely to be of Irish origin.
Fleming has been less in evidence in the south of England. The Flemings of Stoneham in Hampshire descended from Sir Thomas Fleming, the Lord Chief Justice in James I's time. This Fleming estate had become very extensive by the end of the 19th century. But the ancestral home at Stoneham Park has since been demolished and the estate broken up.
Ireland. The Fleming name appeared at an early date. A Fleming family, starting from John Fleming in the 15th century and possibly earlier, were lords of Slane in county Meath. Many Flemings were prominent in the church at that time. Flemings became landowners in Sligo in the 1650's. However, the Meath Flemings lost their holdings in 1690 when the Jacobites were defeated.
Other Flemings were Scots settlers in Ulster from the 17th century. These included the Flemings from Tyrone in Cookstown and Dromore and the Flemings from Derry in Kenoght.
America. Alexander Fleming came to Virginia in 1649 with other adherents of Charles I and purchased land in Lancaster county. He was, according to family tradition (although not confirmed), from the Scots Wigton Flemings. These Flemings subsequently lived at Rock Castle in Goochland county. Captain John Fleming fought and died in the Revolutionary War.
William Fleming arrived in Kent, Delaware from Scotland in 1740. The Flemings in Pitt, North Carolina, where David Fleming was born in 1755, may also have come from Delaware.
Samuel Fleming, Scots-Irish from county Antrim, arrived in Savannah, Georgia with his family in 1768. Another Scots-Irish Samuel Fleming, this time from county Tyrone, had come to New Jersey around 1740 and was the founder of the township now called Flemington. A third Scots-Irish immigrant, George Fleming, farmed near Jacksonville in Florida in the late 1700's and named his plantation Hibernia. His descendant Francis Fleming was a segregationalist Governor of Florida a century later.
Select Fleming Miscellany
Select Fleming Names
Sir Thomas Fleming was the Lord Chief Justice who sentenced Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plotters in 1605.
Thomas Fleming was the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin in the early 17th century.
Michael Fleming, a Catholic bishop, was regarded as the most influential Irish immigrant to have come to Newfoundland in the 19th century.
Sir Sandford Fleming was a Scots-born Canadian engineer and the creator of Standard Time.
Robert Fleming was a Scots financier from Dundee who founded the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co.
Sir Alexander Fleming was the discoverer of penicillin in 1928, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine.
Ian Fleming was the novelist and creator of James Bond.
Tommy Fleming from Sligo is one of Ireland's top singers.
Select Flemings Today
Select Index of NamesFleming is a surname in English-speaking countries. It usually points to an ancestral origin in and emigration from Flanders. There were extensive ties between Flanders and the British Isles during the Middle Ages, with numerous Flemings arriving as merchants or weavers. At this time Flanders was the hub of the European textile trade and many Flemings were offered incentives to set up their trade here, particuilarly in Scotland. Some of this emigration happened so long ago that the name has been retained while the ethnic connection has been lost.
An alternative spelling of the surname is Flemming. The Irish Gaelic name is Pleimeann. German variants include Flaming, Flahming, and Flehmig; Dutch variants Vlaming and Vlaaderen. The Flemings of Louhisaari were a Swedish noble family whose forebears had migrated to Swedish-ruled Finland.
Select Fleming Resources on The
Internet
- The Flemings of Rydal Hall. Flemings in Cumbria.
- Flemings in Virginia. The family tradition of Scottish heritage.
- Descendants of Samuel Fleming. Flemings from Ireland to Georgia.
- Fleming DNA Project. Fleming/Flemming DNA.
Scotland. The Flemish influx into Scotland began when they were driven out of England as alien traders by Henry II in the 12th century. They set themselves up in the wool trade on the Scottish borders, first at Berwick and later at Dumfries. Other Flemings were influential in Lanarkshire. Robert Fleming was a supporter of Robert the Bruce and his son Malcolm was made the Earl of Wigton. Flemings from this family were appointed Lord High Chamberlains of Scotland and were later close to Mary, Queen of Scots. This line died out in Scotland in the 18th century. Another Fleming family from Stonehouse in Lanarkshire has descendants today in Canada and New Zealand.
The Fleming surname has cropped up in various other places in Scotland. There was the Laird Cragganfearn Fleming in Perthshire. David Fleming was an 18th century Glasgow merchant whose descendants were graziers in Australia. Robert Fleming started out as a jute baron in Dundee in the 1880's and set up his own international merchant bank in London. His grandson was Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books.
England. In England, the Fleming name was mainly to be found in the north, in particular in what is now Cumbria. These may well have been early Flemish settlers. The le Fleming seat for many centuries was Rydal Hall in the Lake District (the family history is recounted in Ann Galbraith's The Fleming Family of Rydal Hall). This family emigrated to New Zealand in the 1850's. A Fleming family from Wath near Rotherham in the West Riding of Yorkshire dates from Reiner Fleming in the 12th century. This family produced Richard Fleming, the Bishop of Lincoln in 1419. They too have long departed the scene. Flemings in Lancashire are more likely to be of Irish origin.
Fleming has been less in evidence in the south of England. The Flemings of Stoneham in Hampshire descended from Sir Thomas Fleming, the Lord Chief Justice in James I's time. This Fleming estate had become very extensive by the end of the 19th century. But the ancestral home at Stoneham Park has since been demolished and the estate broken up.
Ireland. The Fleming name appeared at an early date. A Fleming family, starting from John Fleming in the 15th century and possibly earlier, were lords of Slane in county Meath. Many Flemings were prominent in the church at that time. Flemings became landowners in Sligo in the 1650's. However, the Meath Flemings lost their holdings in 1690 when the Jacobites were defeated.
Other Flemings were Scots settlers in Ulster from the 17th century. These included the Flemings from Tyrone in Cookstown and Dromore and the Flemings from Derry in Kenoght.
America. Alexander Fleming came to Virginia in 1649 with other adherents of Charles I and purchased land in Lancaster county. He was, according to family tradition (although not confirmed), from the Scots Wigton Flemings. These Flemings subsequently lived at Rock Castle in Goochland county. Captain John Fleming fought and died in the Revolutionary War.
William Fleming arrived in Kent, Delaware from Scotland in 1740. The Flemings in Pitt, North Carolina, where David Fleming was born in 1755, may also have come from Delaware.
Samuel Fleming, Scots-Irish from county Antrim, arrived in Savannah, Georgia with his family in 1768. Another Scots-Irish Samuel Fleming, this time from county Tyrone, had come to New Jersey around 1740 and was the founder of the township now called Flemington. A third Scots-Irish immigrant, George Fleming, farmed near Jacksonville in Florida in the late 1700's and named his plantation Hibernia. His descendant Francis Fleming was a segregationalist Governor of Florida a century later.
Select Fleming Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Fleming Names
Sir Thomas Fleming was the Lord Chief Justice who sentenced Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plotters in 1605.
Thomas Fleming was the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin in the early 17th century.
Michael Fleming, a Catholic bishop, was regarded as the most influential Irish immigrant to have come to Newfoundland in the 19th century.
Sir Sandford Fleming was a Scots-born Canadian engineer and the creator of Standard Time.
Robert Fleming was a Scots financier from Dundee who founded the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co.
Sir Alexander Fleming was the discoverer of penicillin in 1928, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine.
Ian Fleming was the novelist and creator of James Bond.
Tommy Fleming from Sligo is one of Ireland's top singers.
Select Flemings Today
- 28,000 in the UK (most numerous in Lanarkshire)
- 28,000 in America (most numerous in Texas)
- 35,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Canada).
The Origin/Spread of Surnames