Sumner (surname)

Sumner is a surname. It originates from the English-language word that is spelled, 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. Among the notable people with this surname are the following:

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 (bishop) (1790–1874), Anglican bishop (Landaff and then Winchester)
Charles Sumner (1811–1874), American politician
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
Jessie Sumner (1898–1994), U.S. Representative from Illinois
Jethro Sumner (1733–1785), American Revolutionary War general
Joe Sumner (born 1976), British musician
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
John Sumner (actor, born 1951), British actor
John Sumner (actor, died 1649) (died May 1649), English theatre actor
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
Mary Lou Sumner (1927–2002), American politician
Mary Sumner (1828–1921), founder of the Mothers' Union
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

See also