Pomeroy (surname)
Pomeroy or De La Pommeraie is a surname documented from the 11th century. Currently spelled as Pomeroy and the many variations which have occurred over time and geopolitical location. These variations include Pomroy, Pomery, Pumroy, Pummery, Pummeroy, de Pomerai, de Pomeroy, and Pommery. Etymology. Despite the clearly found words of "pomme" and "roy" in the name, meaning "apple" in French and "king" in Old French (French "roi"), the surname given to "Radulphus" is not linked with the Old French word "roy", but is the common place-name "Pommeraye", that means "orchard of apple-trees", Modern French word "", from  pommier "apple-tree" and old suffix "-aye", now "-aie", meaning "a collection of trees". Originally the suffix "-aye" was masculine : "-ey", "-ay" and sometimes "-oy". The secondary phonetic shift "-ey" > "-oy" is normally typical of Picard and the Eastern dialects of Langue d'oïl, but can sometimes be observed in Normandy. Origins of the family. There are several La Pommeraye in Normandy, but the sources mention generally two possible birth places of the family, both in Lower Normandy. One in the Cotentin Peninsula on the commune of Saint-Sauveur-la-Pommeraye, now in the Manche "département", 12 km from Granville . The other possible location is La Pommeraye, commune of the Calvados "département" between Thury-Harcourt and Pont-d'Ouilly (35 km south from Caen). The at La Pommeraye is believed to be the original seat of the family and the de la Pomeroi founded the Val Abbey at Saint-Omer, Calvados. History. Following the Norman conquest of England, "Radulph[us]" de la Pomeray is found in the Domesday Book (1086) holding numerous properties as Lord or Tenant-in-chief; 98 in Devon, 2 in Somerset, and 1 in Cornwall. His holdings included a castle at Berry Pomeroy, of which the family retained  possession until the second year of the reign of King Edward VI, Henry VIII's son, and the Prayer Book Rebellion in 1549 when the castle was sold to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset.