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), British historian
• Bernard Sumner (born 1956), British musician
• Brian Sumner (born 1979), British skateboarder
• Carl Sumner (1908–1999), American baseball player
• Charles Sumner (1811–1874), American politician
• Charles Richard Sumner (1790–1874), Anglican bishop (Landaff and then Winchester)
• Charlie Sumner (born 1930), American football player and coach
• Cid Ricketts Sumner (1890–1970), American novelist
• Claude Sumner, Canadian philosopher
• Edwin Vose "Bull" Sumner (1797–1863), American Civil War general
• George Sumner (1824–1909), Anglican Bishop of Guildford
• Gordon Sumner (born 1951), British musician better known as Sting, singer of the band The Police
• 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
• Jake Sumner (born 1985), British model
• Jethro Sumner (1733–1785), American Revolutionary War general
• Jim Sumner (born 1966), British businessman
• Joe Sumner (born 1976), British musician
• Joe Sumner (born 1991), British gangster
• John Sumner (actor born 1951), British actor
• John Sumner (17th-century actor) (died May 1649), an English theatre actor
• John Hilton Sumner (born 1940), Technical Author
• 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)
• Joseph Burton Sumner (1837–1920), American settler
• John S. Sumner (1876–1971), head of New York Society for the Suppression of Vice from 1915 to 1950
• Kelly Sumner, British businessman
• L. W. Sumner (born 1941), Canadian philosopher
• Mary Sumner (1828–1921), founder of the Mothers' Union
• Robert Sumner (born 1922), American evangelist and writer
• Samuel S. Sumner (1842–1937), American general
• Sarah Sumner (21st century), American Evangelical theologian
• Sophie Sumner (born 1990), British fashion model
• Steve Sumner (born 1955), New Zealand football player
• T. B. Sumner, American politician
• Thomas Hubbard Sumner (1807–1876), American mariner
• Tim Sumner (physicist), Professor of Experimental Physics at Imperial College London
• Tim Sumner (footballer) (born 1994), Australian rules footballer
• Walt Sumner (born 1947), American football player
• William Graham Sumner (1840–1910), American sociologist
• William H. Sumner (1780–1861), Boston historical figure
• William Sumner (Hawaii) (1786–1847), ship captain and early English settler of Hawaii
• William Keolaloa Sumner (1816–1885), Hawaiian chief and landholder
• John Kapilikea Sumner (1820–1915), Hawaiian chief and landholder
• Nancy Sumner (1839–1896), Hawaiian chiefess and lady-in-waiting
• Elizabeth Keawepoʻoʻole Sumner (1850–1911), Hawaiian chiefess and lady-in-waiting

See also

• Sumner family tree showing the relationship between some of the above