Sumners

Sumners is a surname of English origin and a variant of Sumner. The name is historically occupational, associated with an official who dealt with sums of money, tolls, or dues, though the exact duties and regional variations varied over time. In contemporary use, Sumners is borne by individuals in English-speaking countries and appears across fields such as politics, academia, business, and the arts. The form is also encountered in place names and street names, reflecting the common practice of naming locales after settlers or landowners who carried the surname. In some instances, institutions, events, or buildings bear the name Sumners when named for a person who carried the surname. The spelling Sumner is the more common variant and is closely related, with some families using both forms in historical records. Sumners, like Sumner, can thus function as a surname, a toponym, and a component of institutional names.