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
• Bernard Sumner (born 1956), British musician
• Brian Sumner (born 1979), British skateboarder
• 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 Matthew Thomas Sumner (born 1951), Also known as Sting, lead singer of British Band The Police
• Gregory Sumner, history professor and biographer
• Heywood Sumner (1853–1940), English artist, designer, writer and archaeologist
• 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