Apparently recorded as Stancer and Stanser, this is a rare surname which seems to have burst onto the surviving church registers of the city of London, in the mid 18th century. At this time there were a flurry of recordings all of which occur at the famous church of St Martins in the Field, Westminster, in both spellings, but applying to the same family! The first was that of George Stanser, who married Hannah Hodgons on July 18th 1756, and thereafter in 1758 and 1763 that of their sons George and John, who were both christened and recorded in the spellings Stancer. The appearance of the name and comparison with other similar spellings both in English and in other languages, would suggest that it is British, and either occupational or just possibly locational, although we have not been able to prove either. It would seem to originate from the Old English word "stan" meaning stone and if so would seem to describe either a stone worker although this is usually Stanier or Stonier, or be locational and describe one who came from a place called Stone, of which there are many English examples. Spelling over the centuries being at best indifferent as shown in the examples above, and local dialects very thick, often lead to transposition of spellings, sometimes far removed from the original form.

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