Explore the Family Name Demery

The meaning of Demery

1. Altered form of Demaree, a surname of French origin, or ultimately perhaps of some other similar (like-sounding) surname. The surname Demery, which is most common among African Americans, may alternatively be of English origin (see 2 and 3 below). Compare Demory 1. 2. English (of French Huguenot origin): probably an Anglicized form of French Deméré, De Méré, a habitational name, with fused preposition de ‘from’, denoting someone from any of several places called Méré (in Indre-et-Loire, Yvelines, and Yonne). 3. English (of Norman origin): variant of Damery 2. History: Many bearers of the name in 1 above and of its variant Demory are of West African descent, their common ancestor apparently being a slave in Nansemond County, VA, who in 1711 obtained his freedom by court order on grounds of excessive cruelty by his owner, John Lear. In 1711 the slave was named John Demerea by the court, while later his surname appears as Demaris, Dimrea, Demira, and finally, in 1758, as Demaree.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.