Recorded as Amer, Amor, Amore, and Aymor, this is arguably an Anglo-Scottish surname. It has several possible origins, all quite different and distinct. The first is from the Olde English pre 7th century personal name "Aethelmaer", which in the Middle Ages became "Ailmar". This was composed of the elements "aethel", meaning noble, plus "-maer", famous. The second possible origin is Scottish and locational from some minor place called Ailmer. This would seem to be proven by the appearance in surviving rolls and charters of Scotland in the 13th century which record that Emmed de'Ailmer and Robert de Almere of the county of Selkirk, paid homage to the Interregnum Government of Scotland in the year 1296, according to Medieval Scottish registers. A third possible origin is English although a Norman-French introduction after the conquest of 1066. It derives from the given name "Amor", from the Latin word to love, and one that was popular in Spain, Italy and France. The personal name is recorded as Eymer in Cambridgeshire, in 1260 and as Aymar in the "Gascon Calendar" of 1298. Early examples of the surname recording taken from surviving church registers include the marriage of John Amore and Katherine Fisher on September 26th 1541, at Harrietsham in Kent, and the marriage of Elizabeth Amer and Daniel Carr on January 29th 1655, at St. Stephen's, Coleman Street, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Philip Aimer. This was dated 1180, in the "Pipe Rolls of Essex", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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