spelling variations

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Spelling Variations


British Isles

The table below illustrates the amount of spelling variation encountered in the British Isles. In no way does it illustrate surname distribution e.g. the first reference to Gomery was found in Eccleshall, Staffordshire in 1336. In total 2103 references to Gomery have been found, only 50 of these occurred in Staffordshire mainly in the 20th century.

Another example is the spelling variant Gumbrey - 22 have so far been found, the first in Cornwall in 1592. The 1592 Gumbrey is the only one found in Cornwall, the whole database contains only 9 references located in Cornwall.

The way a surname is spelt was most often determined by the way the scribe, church minister, census enumerator etc. wrote it. In times when most people were illiterate they could not spell their surname for whoever was recording it, nor could they read and correct what was written. The recorder wrote what he heard, or what he thought he heard, and adding regional accents to the equation makes for some interesting variations.

The most common spelling in the British Isles is Gummery (3165), followed by Gomery (2103), then Gumery (1190), which are the three spelling variants found in the UK today.

At the end of the table is an explanation of the county codes used.

Surname Date First Encountered Place County Number of Occurrences
Gumri c.1295 Worcester WOR 1
Gommere 1300 London LND 2
Gomery 1336 Eccleshall STS 2103
Gomarey 1532 St Gabriel parish, London MDX 1
Gumrie 1544 England   4
Gomerye 1559 Maresfield SSX 4
Gomere 1571 Cripplegate LND 2
Gombrye 1572 Lynchmere SSX 2
Gomore 1582 London LND 1
Gomrie 1585 Burwarton SAL 1
Gumbrey 1592 Bodmin CON 22
Gumry 1592 Burwarton SAL 130
Ghammre 1593 Leamington Hastings WAR 1
Goomry 1604 Lamberhurst KEN 1
Goomrie 1605 Lamberhurst KEN 1
Gumery 1620 Rochford WOR 1190
Gummory 1623 Newcrane LND 6
Gumbury 1625 Knighton on Teme WOR 20
Gumerye 1630 Rochford WOR 1
Gumrey 1650 Shelsley Beauchamp WOR 60
Gummery 1654 Shelsley Beauchamp WOR 3165
Gummerye 1655 Shelsley Beauchamp WOR 1
Gombry 1657 Leominster HEF 3
Gumbery 1658 Rochford WOR 18
Gummry 1661 Rochford WOR 10
Gomerie 1668 Rochford WOR 3
Gommery 1671 Rochford WOR 133
Gumbry 1673 Rochford WOR 94
Gommare 1684 Plymouth DEV 1
Gomberry 1687 Tenbury WOR 12
Gommeree 1693 Rochford WOR 6
Gomeree 1694 St Dunstan Stepney LND 1
Gummerey 1695 Old Swinford WOR 6
Gomary 1695 Worcester WOR 8
Gumberye 1696 Rufford LAN 1
Gummeree 1700 Rochford WOR 1
Gomry 1708 Rochford WOR 19
Goombery 1713 Woolhope HEF 2
Gombery 1717 Woolhope HEF 7
Gummary 1728 St Olave LND 44
Goombury 1728 Woolhope HEF 4
Gomrey 1729 St Olave Southwark SRY 6
Gombury 1733 Woolhope HEF 4
Gomoroy 1733 St Mary Newington SRY 1
Gumbary 1735 Woolhope HEF 1
Gomory 1736 Worcester WOR 7
Gumberry 1742 Rufford LAN 11
Gommury 1745 Claines WOR 1
Gumary 1758 Clapham BED 12
Gumbrie 1760 Croston LAN 2
Gomerry 1767 Fittlesworth SSX 2
Gommory 1769 Lavenham SFK 1
Gommary 1779 Penwortham LAN 3
Gummerry 1783 Woolhope HEF 2
Gumroy 1784 Hughenden BKM 1
Gumory 1787 Sollershope HEF 3
Gomeroy 1790 Woolhope HEF 3
Gommerry 1810 Shoreditch MDX 1
Gomorry 1813 Rochester KEN 1
Gumbree 1813 Marylebone MDX 1
Gumerey 1822 Wigan LAN 1
Gamrey 1824 Liverpool LAN 3
Gameroy 1826 Liverpool LAN 1
Gummeray 1827 Stoke d'Abernon SRY 4
Gammery 1829 Liverpool LAN 2
Gamure 1835 Upton Bishop HEF 1
Gomeary 1835 Fownhope HEF 1
Gomerey 1843 Ormskirk LAN 3
Gombrey 1847 Brewood STS 1
Gummeary 1849 Hereford RD HEF 3
Gumere 1855 St Helens LAN 1
Gomroy 1857 Ross RD HEF 1
Gomaery 1870 Woolhope HEF 1
Gummury 1871 Worcester WOR 2
Goomery 1872 Warwick RD WAR 1
Gamery 1881 Whitchurch HEF 4
Gammerry 1881 Nottingham NTT 3
Gomray 1881 Ashperton HEF 1
Gummerie 1891 St Helens LAN 3
Gummereige 1901 Shipley YKS 1
Gomree 1953 Dover RD KEN 1
Gomori 1970 Cambridge RD CAM 10
Total = 82       7204

Please note that this is not 7204 individuals that have been recorded, rather 7204 references. For example one person could have a birth or baptism record, a marriage record, a death or burial record, plus other miscellaneous records like census, directory, marriage licence, will, etc.

County Codes

Code County
BED Bedfordshire
BKM Buckinghamshire
CAM Cambridgeshire
CON Cornwall
DEV Devon
HEF Herefordshire
KEN Kent
LAN Lancashire
LND London
MDX Middlesex
NTT Nottinghamshire
SAL Salop = Shropshire
SFK Suffolk
SRY Surrey
SSX Sussex
STS Staffordshire
WAR Warwickshire
WOR Worcestershire
YKS Yorkshire

Rest of the World

In the U.S.A. the most common spelling variant is Gummere (one family descending from an early immigrant from Belgium), followed by Gomery, then Gomory (Hungarian in origin), Gumery, Gomori (Hungarian) and Gummery.

Surname Date First Encountered Place Country Number of Occurrences
Gomery 1696 Shoals, New Hampshire USA 671
Gummere c.1696 Germantown, Pennsylvania USA 2417
Gummery 1713 Philadelphia USA 105
Gumery 1722 Boston, Massachusetts USA 150
Gumry 1730 Delaware USA 17
Gomary 1738 Boston, Massachusetts USA 7
Gommry 1741 Chester Co., Pennsylvania USA 3
Gommery 1741 Virginia USA 48
Gomori c.1745   Hungary 144
Gomory 1775   Hungary 547
Gumre c.1793 Berks, Pennsylvania USA 2
Gomore 1794 North Carolina USA 2
Gumare 1827 Orange, New York USA 2
Gomere 1829 Ohio USA 8
Gamry 1830 London, Connecticut USA 1
Gomrey 1830 Harrison, Ohio USA 1
Gomry 1830 Harrison, Ohio USA 9
Gummeree 1832 Ohio USA 2
Gommere 1840 Clark, Ohio USA 12
Gumere 1840 Haverford, Pennsylvania USA 33
Gumore 1840 Delaware, Pennsylvania USA 1
Gamere 1849 Clay, Indiana USA 1
Gummerie 1850 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA 9
Gumary 1850 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA 7
Gomare 1854 New York USA 2
Gommary 1860 Summit, Ohio USA 1
Gumaere 1860 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA 1
Gumree 1860 Wabash, Indiana USA 5
Gumrie 1860 Fairfield, Ohio USA 9
Gumaree 1861 Indiana USA 1
Gummereey 1862   USA 1
Gummrie 1870 Jefferson, Iowa USA 4
Gumray 1870 Champaign, Illinois USA 4
Gumrey 1870 Clay, Indiana USA 8
Gummerre 1880 Jefferson, Iowa USA 5
Gomerie 1893   Austria 1
Goemoery 1897 Budapest Hungary 5
Gomeri 1897 Rochfalva Hungary 2
Gommory 1900 Fairfield, Connecticut USA 1
Gomari 1901 N. Kapos Hungary 5
Gomoroy 1905   Hungary 1
Goomery 1900 Fayette, Pennsylvania USA 7
Gomuri 1901 Rochfalva Hungary 1
Gamary 1910 Jackson, Ohio USA 18
Gamery 1910 Guernsey, Ohio USA 16
Gormery 1910 Fayette, Pennsylvania USA 7
Gormory 1910 Allegheny, Pennsylvania USA 5
Gummeri 1911   USA 1
Gomorie 1912 Berks, Pennsylvania USA 1
Gammari 1913 Manhattan, New York USA 1
Gomeroy 1930 Manhattan, New York USA 4
Gomorry 1930 Allegheny, Pennsylvania USA 1
Gamory 1932 Manhattan, New York USA 8
Goemaere 1997 Marion, Oregon USA 4
Total = 55       4329

If you would like to know more please email me .

References:-
GOMERY/GUM(M)ERY One-Name Study database
URL=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gomery/spellvar.html
Last revised: 3 September 2006
© Linda Hansen 2006