Lyons (surname)


Lyons is a surname with several origins. It is the name of an eminent Anglo-Norman family that is descended from Ingelram de Lyons, Lord of Lyons, who arrived in England with the Norman Conquest. From Ingelram's relation, Nicholas de Lyons, who emigrated from Normandy to England in 1080 and was granted lands at Warkworth, Northamptonshire by William of Normandy. The family originated in the district of the Forest of Lyons, north of the town of Lyons-la-Forêt, in Norman Vexin, where their seat was the Castle of Lyons. The original surname was 'de Lyons' : subsequently, the 'de' was removed from the name, and some branches removed the 's' from the end of the word, producing 'Lyon'.
During the 14th century, a branch of the family emigrated to Scotland, where they became Clan Lyon, the Lords of Glamis, and the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne. During the 15th century, a branch of the family emigrated to Ireland, where they established a seat at King's County that became known as River Lyons, and a seat at County Westmeath that was named Ledestown/Ledistown Hall, from which they served as High Sheriff of Westmeath and as High Sheriff of King's County. This branch of the family owned land in Antigua and later moved back from Ireland to England.
The descendants of the original Warkworth family who remained in England had ceased to reside at Warkworth by the 16th century, and resided on estates in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Middlesex. Some of them intermarried with descendants of the branch of the family that had emigrated to Scotland. During the 16th and 17th centuries, including after the English Civil War, some members of the family emigrated to America to New York, America.
There are other families with the surname that are not related to the Anglo-Norman family, including a Celtic Irish family whose name derives from the Celtic word for 'grey', through the Irish names of Ó Laighin and 'Ó Liatháin.
It is often carried by Jewish people, especially in south England and the USA. In that case the name is a variant of Lion, itself an associative variant of Levi, originating from the Netherlands and Germany.

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  • Oren Lyons, Native American, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan

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