2,314 Global BONER Family Members

BONER Family History

Recorded as Bonar, Boner, Bonner and Bonnaire, this is a surname of a number of possible origins, each with its own distinct derivation. Firstly, the surname may be English and Scottish but ultimately of pre 8th century Old French origins. As such it is derived from the phrase "de bonne aire", literally meaning "of handsome or of good bearing". It was adopted into Middle English as "bonere or bonour", and used as a nickname for someone thought to embody these qualities, or possibly given the Chaucerian humour of the period, the reverse! Thomas Boner was one of the first of the name to be recorded, being a charter witness in the city of Aberdeen in 1281.