What was the Somerville's old Italian last name before they came to America?

Answer 1

Segimero is the old Italian last name of the Somerville family of the United Kingdom and of the United States. The English surname represents the form of the name as it was carried by Sir Gualter (Walter) de Somerville from the Norman place name Sémerville to England with the Norman Conquest Oct. 14, 1066. The Norman place name turns Segimero into Sémerville, as "Ségimer's domaine" in recognition of the family and descendants of Cheruscan chief Segimerus (Sigmar in old western Germanic for "famous [for] victories") in their interactions in ancient Germany and Italy at the time of Roman Emperor Tiberius (Nov. 16, 42 B.C.-A.D. March 16, 37).