Pinner

Background:  Pinner is an old Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person who worked as the Pinder which referred to a individual who impounded stray cattle. During the Middle Ages there was rampant theft of livestock, which made the Pinder a very important member of the community. Pinner could also be referenced to a pin maker, peg or pin. Besides pins, the pinner also made wire articles, especially needles inserted into cards used in cloth dressing. The Pindar of Wakefield is the subject of one of Robin Hood ballads, "She doth not only think of lusty Robin Hood, but of his merry man, the Pindar of the Town of Walkfield."

The surname Pinner first appeared in Cheshire where they held a family seat from old times and their first records were found in the poll rolls derived by the old Kings of Britain to decide the rate of taxation of their services. The very first recording spelling of the family was shown to be that of Adam Le Pinare, dated about 1244, in the “Pipe Rolls of the City of Worcester”. It was during the time of King Edward III, dated 1327-1377. This old surname is frequently professional. It acquires from the Olde English ‘pinn’ which means a needle or pin, or in an alternative sense of a pine tree. A few name owners will have geographical sources from the hamlet of Pinner in Middlesex, however, even then the name means ‘the place of the pin manufacturers’ or possibly ‘the pine trees.’ A ‘pinner’ was a highly skilled profession, and not just bound to pins and needles, but also wire items like baskets and bird enclosures. There are many forms of the name containing as Pinner, Piner, Pinor, Pinar, Pyner, Pynner and Penner, as well as the French spellings of Pinar, Pineaux, and Pinard. Previous documentations contained Richard de Pinner of London in 1275, and there cannot be much doubt where he came from, though Walter Le Pinnere, also of London in 1281, was most surely a pin manufacturer. Edward le Peniur of Norfolk in 1275 was obviously a comb producer, and this form acquires from the French ‘peignour,’ brought by the Normans after 1066. However, over the centuries the name spellings have become scattered to the point where it is frequently impossible to be certain of the origin. After that, church documentations contain as Wynifred Pynner named at St Margarets, Westminster, in October 1595, Ann Penner, named at St Marys Parish, Putney, in June 1625, and Catherine Piner, who married John Turner at St James Church, Westminster, in April 1772.

Name Variations:  Pinner, Pinneri, Pinnero, Pinnere, Pinneru, Painner, Pinnera, Pinnear, Piner, Pinneer, Pinneiro, Pynner, Pinard, Pineaux, Pinar, Penner, Pindar.

References:
One or more of the following publications has been referenced for this article.
The General Armory; Sir Bernard Burke - 1842.
A Handbook of Mottoes; C.N. Elvin - 1860.
English Surnames; C.M. Matthews - 1966.
A Dictionary of English Surnames; P.H. Reaney - 1958.
coadb.com: https://coadb.com/surnames/pinner-arms.html

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