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.[citation needed]
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 Sumner (actor, born 1951), British 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
See also
edit- Summer (surname)
- Sumners, surname
This page lists people with the surname Sumner.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.