# Sumner (surname)

Sumner is a surname. It originates from the English-language word that is spelt, in modern English, summoner, denoting a person who serves a summons. In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, one of the characters is a summoner (see "The Summoner's Tale"); a Middle English spelling is Somonour. Other spellings include Sumpner, Somner, and Summoner.
Notable people with this surname include:
* Allen Melancthon Sumner (1882–1918), American Marine
* Andrew Sumner, British movie journalist and publisher
* Benedict Humphrey Sumner (1893–1951), usually known as Humphrey Sumner, English historian
* Bernard Sumner (born 1956), British musician
* Brian Sumner (born 1979), British skateboarder
* Bruce Sumner (1924–2018), American Superior Court Judge
* Byron Sumner (born 1991), Australian rules footballer
* Carl Sumner (1908–1999), American baseball player
* Charles Sumner (1811–1874), American politician
* Charles Sumner (bishop) (1790–1874), Anglican bishop (Landaff and then Winchester)
* Charlie Sumner (1930–2015), American football player and coach
* Charlotte Sumner, American neurologist
* Chris Sumner (born 1943), former Australian politician
* Cid Ricketts Sumner (1890–1970), American novelist
* Claude Sumner (1919–2012), Canadian philosopher
* Edmond Sumner (born 1995), American basketball player, NBA, Indiana Pacers
* Edwin Vose "Bull" Sumner (1797–1863), American Civil War general
* Elizabeth Keawepoʻoʻole Sumner (1850–1911), Hawaiian chiefess and lady-in-waiting
* Francis Bertody Sumner (1874–1945), American ichthyologist, zoologist and writer
* Geoffrey Sumner (1908–1989), British actor, commentator for British Movietone News
* Gordon Sumner, former Australian rules footballer
* Sting (born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner in 1951), lead singer of British Band The Police
* Gregory Sumner, history professor and biographer
* Heywood Sumner (1853–1940), English artist, designer, writer and archaeologist
* Humphrey Sumner (1743–1814), English Anglican priest and educationalist
* Increase Sumner (1746–1799), American politician and jurist
* J. D. Sumner (1924–1998), American singer and songwriter
* James B. Sumner (1887–1955), American biochemist
* Jean Sumner, American internist and academic administrator
* Jessie Sumner (1898–1994), U.S. Representative from Illinois
* Jethro Sumner (1733–1785), American Revolutionary War general
* Joe Sumner (born 1976), British musician
* John Sumner (actor, died 1649) (died May 1649), English theatre actor
* John Bird Sumner (1780–1862), Anglican bishop/Archbishop of Canterbury
* John Robert Sumner (1850–1933), English amateur footballer, played in 1873 FA Cup Final (grandson of John Bird Sumner)
* John S. Sumner (1876–1971), head of New York Society for the Suppression of Vice from 1915 to 1950
* Joseph Burton Sumner (1837–1920), American settler
* Kelly Sumner (born 1961), British businessman
* L. W. Sumner (born 1941), Canadian philosopher
* Liam Sumner (born 1993), former professional Australian rules footballer
* Major "Moogy" Sumner (born 1948), Aboriginal Australian elder, environmental activist, dancer, and cultural adviser
* Mary Sumner (1828–1921), founder of the Mothers' Union
* Mary Lou Sumner (1927–2002), American politician
* Mickey Sumner (born 1984), English actress
* Nancy Sumner (1839–1895), Hawaiian chiefess and lady-in-waiting
* Peter Sumner (1942–2016), Australian actor, director and writer
* Phil Sumner (born 1990), cornet, keyboard and guitar player
* Robert Sumner (1922–2016), American evangelist and writer
* Samuel S. Sumner (1842–1937), American general
* Sarah Sumner, American evangelical theologian
* Sophie Sumner (born 1990), British fashion model
* Steve Sumner (1955–2017), New Zealand football player
* T. B. Sumner (1857–1934), American politician
* Thomas Hubbard Sumner (1807–1876), American mariner
* Tim Sumner (footballer) (born 1994), Australian rules footballer
* Tim Sumner (physicist), Professor of Experimental Physics at Imperial College London
* Walt Sumner (born 1947), American football player
* William Graham Sumner (1840–1910), American sociologist
* William H. Sumner (1780–1861), Boston historical figure
* William Keolaloa Sumner (1816–1885), Hawaiian chief and landholder