Mortimer () is an English

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

, and occasionally a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

Norman origins

The surname Mortimer has a Norman origin, deriving from the village of Mortemer, Seine-Maritime, Normandy. A Norman castle existed at Mortemer from an early point; one 11th century figure associated with the castle was Roger, lord of Mortemer, who fought in the Battle of Mortemer in 1054. The 12th century abbey of Mortemer at Lisors near

Lyons-la-Forêt Lyons-la-Forêt () is a commune of the Eure department, Normandy, in northwest France. Lyons-la-Forêt has distinctive historical geography, and architecture, and contemporary culture, as a consequence of the Forest of Lyons, and its bocage, and of ...

is assumed to share the same etymological origin, and was granted to the Cistercian order by Henry II in the 1180s. According to the toponymists

Albert Dauzat Albert Dauzat (; 4 July 1877 – 31 October 1955) was a French linguist specializing in toponymy and onomastics. Dauzat, a student of Jules Gilliéron, was a director of studies at the École des hautes études. Works * ''L'argot des poilus; di ...

and later, François de Beaurepaire, there are two possible explanations for such a place name:

First, a small pond must have already existed before the land was given to the monks and have already been called ''Mortemer'' like the two other ''Mortemers'', because the word ''mer'' "pond" was not used anymore beyond the Xth century. This word is only attested in North-Western France and of Frankish or
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
origin ''mari/meri'' "
mere Mere may refer to: Places * Mere, Belgium, a village in East Flanders * Mere, Cheshire, England * Mere, Wiltshire, England People * Mere Broughton (1938–2016), New Zealand Māori language activist and unionist * Mere Smith, American televisi ...
", "lake"; ''mort(e)'' "dead" is also quite common to mean "stagnant" (in
Port-Mort Port-Mort () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France. The communes cooperate in ...
"the port with stagnant water", Morteau "dead water", etc.).François de Beaurepaire, ''Les noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de la Seine-Maritime'', éditions Picard, 1979, p. 113 . Second, the monks could have given the name ''Mortemer'' to their drainage lake to remember the other Mortemer for any kind of reason we don't know, making a pun at the same time with ''Mer Morte'' "
Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
".

Medieval magnates

In the Middle Ages, the Mortimers became a powerful dynasty of Marcher Lords in the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...

, first as barons of Wigmore Castle, Herefordshire and later as Earl of March from 1328 to 1425. Through marriage, the Mortimers came close to the English throne during the reign of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

, though their royal claim was ignored after Richard II's deposition by his cousin

Henry of Bolingbroke Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fran ...

in 1399. The Mortimer claims were later inherited by the

House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, ...

, which claimed the throne upon the Earl of March

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

's victory in the Battle of Towton, 1461. Members of the noble Mortimer family included: * Ranulph de Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore, Herefordshire and Seigneur of St Victor-en-Caux, Seine-Maritime, Normandy * Hugh de Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore * Roger Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore * Ralph de Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore * Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer (1231–1282) ** Isabella Mortimer, Countess of Arundel (after 1247–before 1 April 1292/after 1300) * Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Mortimer (1251–1304) * Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (1287–1330) **

Edmund Mortimer (1302–1331) Sir Edmund Mortimer (1302/1303 – 16 December 1331) was the eldest son of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, and Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville. By his wife Elizabeth de Badlesmere he was the father of Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of Mar ...

** Katherine Mortimer, Countess of Warwick (1314–1369) **

Agnes Mortimer, Countess of Pembroke Agnes Mortimer, Countess of Pembroke (1317 – 25 July 1368) was the wife of Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke. She was a daughter of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March and Joan de Geneville, Baroness Geneville. Family Agnes Mortimer was o ...

(1317–1368) * Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March (1328–1360) * Thomas Mortimer (c. 1350–1399), illegitimate member of the Mortimer family who opposed Richard II * Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (1352–1381) **

Edmund Mortimer (1376–1409) Sir Edmund Mortimer IV (10 December 1376 – January 1409) was an English nobleman and landowner who played a part in the rebellions of the Welsh leader Owain Glyndŵr and of the Percy family against King Henry IV, at the beginning of the 15th ...

* Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March (1374–1398) * Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March (1391–1425)

Other people

* Amanda Jay Mortimer (born 1944), American urban planner and consultant * Angela Mortimer (born 1932), British tennis player *

Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, podcast presenter and actor. He is known for his work with Vic Reeves as part of their Vic and Bob comedy double act, and more recently the '' Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing ...

(born 1959), English comedian and actor * Carole Mortimer (born 1960), English romance novelist *

Chris Mortimer Chris Mortimer (born 19 August 1959 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s for the Canterbury-Bankstown, Penrith, New South Wales and for the Aus ...

(born 1958), Australian rugby league footballer * Conor Mortimer, Irish Gaelic football player * Daniel Mortimer (born 1989), Australian rugby league footballer *

Debra Mortimer Debra Sue Mortimer is an Australian judge. She was born in New Zealand but has practised law in Australia. She has been a judge of the Federal Court of Australia since 2013, having previously been a Senior Counsel practising at the Victorian Bar ...

, Australian judge * Edmund Mortimer (actor) (1874–1944), American actor and film director * Emily Mortimer (born 1971), English actress *

Favell Lee Mortimer Favell Lee Mortimer, born Favell Lee Bevan (14 July 1802 – 22 August 1878) was a British Evangelical author of educational books for children. Early life Favell Lee Bevan was born on 14 July 1802 at Russell Square in London, England. She was ...

(1802–1878), English Evangelical author of educational books for children *

Frank Mortimer Frank Mortimer (23 February 1932 – 4 March 2009) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and Yorkshire, and at club level for Streethouse ARLF ...

(1932–2009), English rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s * Gary Mortimer (born 1967), English aeronaut *

George Ferris Whidborne Mortimer George Ferris Whidborne Mortimer (22 July 1805 – 7 September 1871) was an English schoolmaster and divine. Biography Mortimer was born on 22 July 1805 at Bishopsteignton in Devonshire, was the eldest son of William Mortimer, a country gentl ...

(1805–1871), English schoolmaster and divine * Ian Mortimer (born 1983), Canadian sprint canoeist * Ian Mortimer (historian) (born 1967), British writer *

James Mortimer James Mortimer may refer to: * James Mortimer (chess player) (1833–1911), American/British chess player, journalist, and playwright * James Mortimer (dogshow judge) (1842–1915), British dogshow judge * Jim Mortimer (1921–2013), British trade u ...

(1833–1911), American chess player, journalist and playwright * James Mortimer (hurdler) (born 1983), New Zealand hurdler * Jill Mortimer (elected 2021), British Conservative politician, MP for Hartlepool *

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London, ...

(c. 1656 – 1736), English agriculturalist *

(1923–2009), British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author *

John B. Mortimer John Barry Mortimer, GBS, SPMB, OBE, QC (; born 1931) is a British barrister who has held senior judicial appointments in Hong Kong and Brunei Darussalam. Early life and education Mortimer was born in the United Kingdom in 1931. He was edu ...

, Hong Kong judge * John Hamilton Mortimer (1740–1779), British painter *

John Robert Mortimer John Robert Mortimer (15 June 1825 – 19 August 1911) was an English corn-merchant and archaeologist who lived in Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire. He was responsible for the excavation of many of the notable barrows in the Yorkshire Wolds ...

(1825–1911), Yorkshire corn merchant and archaeologist *

Kenneth Mortimer Kenneth P. Mortimer is a scholar who was president of Western Washington University from 1988 to 1993, and the eleventh president of the University of Hawaiʻi system and chancellor of the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa from 1993 to 2001. He rece ...

, President Emeritus of Western Washington University, eleventh president of the University of Hawai`i system and Chancellor of the University of Hawai`i at Manoa 1993–2001 *

Maddie Mortimer Maddie Mortimer (born 1966) is a British novelist. Writing Mortimer has described her first novel, ''Maps of our spectacular bodies'', as "an elegy to my mum and to our relationship". Her mother died of cancer in 2010 and the book centres on th ...

(born 1966), British writer *

Mary Mortimer Mary Mortimer (December 2, 1816 – July 14, 1877) was a British-born American educator. She served as principal of the Milwaukee Female College and other women's educational institutions. When just a child, Mortimer and her family emigrated fro ...

(1816–1877), British-born American educator *

Minnie Mortimer Marian Fountain "Minnie" Mortimer (born 1980) is an American fashion designer and socialite. Early life Born on Manhattan's Upper East side, Mortimer is the daughter of Senga Clark Mucci Davis and financier John Jay Mortimer, and the granddaught ...

(born 1980), American fashion designer and socialite *

Richard Mortimer Richard Mortimer (April 24, 1852 – March 15, 1918) was an American real estate investor and society leader during the Gilded Age. Early life Mortimer was born in New York City on April 24, 1852. He was the son of William Yates Mortimer (1824– ...

(1852–1918), American real estate investor and society leader *

Roger Mortimer (racing) Major Roger Francis Mortimer (22 November 1909 – November 1991), was an English horse-racing correspondent, Coldstream Guards officer, prisoner of war, and author. Son of Haliburton Stanley Mortimer (1879-1957), of 11 Cadogan Gardens, Che ...

(1909–1991), British horse-racing correspondent * Steve Mortimer (born 1956), Australian rugby league footballer * Thomas Mortimer (1730–1810), English writer in the field of economics *

Tinsley Mortimer Tinsley Randolph Mortimer (née Mercer; born August 11, 1975) is an American socialite and television personality. She is known for starring in the reality television series ''High Society'' and ''The Real Housewives of New York City''. Early l ...

(born 1976), American socialite * Tony Mortimer (born 1970), British songwriter, composer, singer and rapper; member of British 1990s pop group East 17

Fictional characters

* Colonel Douglas Mortimer, played by Lee Van Cleef in the film ''

For a Few Dollars More ''For a Few Dollars More'' ( it, Per qualche dollaro in più) is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. German actor K ...

'' * Dr. Mortimer, in the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

novel '' The Hound of the Baskervilles'' by Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

* Lord Mortimer, played by Billy House in the 1946 film ''

Bedlam Bedlam, a word for an environment of insanity, is a term that may refer to: Places * Bedlam, North Yorkshire, a village in England * Bedlam, Shropshire, a small hamlet in England * Bethlem Royal Hospital, a London psychiatric institution and the ...

'' * Philip Mortimer, a protagonist in '' Blake and Mortimer'', a Belgian comics series created by Edgar P. Jacobs * Mortimer Brewster, a protagonist in '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' and its film adaptation * Mortimer Crane, the protagonist of the novel ''Summer Never Ends'' by Waldo Frank * Mortimer Delvile, in the novel ''Cecilia'' by Frances Burney * Mortimer Duke, in the movie Trading Places, played by Don Ameche * Mortimer Harren, a male crewman in '' Star Trek: Voyager'', appearing in the episode 'Good Shepherd' * Mortimer Scharff, the driver of the hearse Shadow in the popular destruction derby franchise Twisted Metal * Mortimer Snerd, a ventriloquist's dummy employed by

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (born Edgar John Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, actor, comedian, vaudevillian and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Ch ...

* Mortimer McMire, the primary antagonist of the '' Commander Keen'' series * Mortimer Mouse, a Disney character and rival of

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

* Mortimer "Morte" Rictusgrin, a character and companion in the video game '' Planescape: Torment'' * Mortimer "Morty" Smith, one of the two lead characters in '' Rick and Morty'' * Mortimer Toynbee (Toad), a mutant in the '' X-Men'' comics * Mortimer, lead character in ''Mortimer'', by Robert Munsch * Mortimer "Mort" Goldman, a stereotypical Jewish man in

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

References

{{surnames English-language surnames Surnames of Norman origin