Origins Available:

England

What does the name Ventress mean?

The distinguished surname Ventress is derived from the Middle English word "aventurous," meaning "the venturous."

Another source "suggests La Ventrouse in the arrondissement of Montagne, Normandy, as the home of the family."

Following the Norman theme, we found Ralph Ventras, or Vintras, Normandy 1180-95 in the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae.

The surname Ventress was first found in Huntingdonshire where William A Ventur was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279. Years later, William le Ventre was found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327. Francis Ventreys was listed in the Feet of Fines for Huntingdonshire in 1600.

Some records point to Cambridgeshire, where the family was first referenced in the 13th century when they held a family seat at Wittlesford.

The Venters variant is typically found in Scotland where the name is "current in Fife," but like the English variants, there is much debate as to the origin.

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ventress research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1586, 1603, 1610, 1614, 1642, 1645, 1650, 1653, 1654, 1661, 1674, 1681, 1688, 1689 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Ventress History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Ventress has been recorded under many different variations, including Ventris, Ventres, Venters, Ventrus, Ventras, Venture, Ventures, Ventrice, Ventriss, Fentress, Fentris and many more.

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Peyton Ventris (1645-1691), English judge and politician. He was the "eldest surviving son of Edward Ventris, barrister-at-law, of Gray's Inn and Granhams, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire (a scion of a Bedfordshire family of some antiquity), by Mary, daughter of John Breuse of Wenham Hall, Suffolk, was born at Wenham Hall in November 1645. He was admitted on 3 Feb. 1653-1654 a member of the Middle Temple, where he was called to the bar on 2 June 1661. Failing to secure a practice, he devoted himself to...
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ventress Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Ventress or a variant listed above:

Ventress Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Ventress, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1839

Connie Ventress, American actress, known for her work on Absentia (2011), Joe's Rotten World (1995) and Baby's Breath (2003)

Sib Ventress (b. 1960), American Primetime Emmy nominated film and television writer

Daniel W. Ventress, American politician, Representative from Connecticut 2nd District, 1888; Socialist Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from East Haddam, 1912

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)

The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 16) . Retrieved from