Sumner is a surname. It originates from the English-language word that is spelled, in modern English, summoner, denoting a person who serves a summons. In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, one of the characters is a summoner (see "The Summoner's Tale"); a Middle English spelling is Somonour. Other spellings include Sumpner, Somner, and Summoner. Among the notable people with this surname are the following:
Allen Melancthon Sumner (1882–1918), American MarineAndrew Sumner, British movie journalist and publisherBenedict Humphrey Sumner (1893-1951), British historianBernard Sumner (born 1956), British musicianBrian Sumner (born 1979), British skateboarderCarl Sumner (1908–1999), American baseball playerCharles Sumner (1811–1874), American politicianCharles Richard Sumner (1790–1874), Anglican bishop (Landaff and then Winchester)Charlie Sumner (born 1930), American football player and coachCid Ricketts Sumner (1890–1970), American novelistClaude Sumner, Canadian philosopherEdwin Vose "Bull" Sumner (1797–1863), American Civil War generalGeorge Sumner (disambiguation)Gordon Sumner (born 1951), British musician better known as Sting, singer of the band The PoliceHeywood Sumner (1853–1940), English artist, designer, writer and archaeologistIncrease Sumner (1746–1799), American politician and juristJ. D. Sumner (1924–1998), American singer and songwriterJames B. Sumner (1887–1955), American biochemistJethro Sumner (1733–1785), American Revolutionary War generalJoe Sumner (born 1976), British musicianJoe Sumner (born 1991), British gangsterJohn Sumner (actor born 1951), British actorJohn Sumner (17th-century actor) (died May 1649), an English theatre actorJohn Bird Sumner (1780–1862), Anglican bishop / Archbishop of CanterburyJohn Robert Sumner (1850–1933), English amateur footballer, played in 1873 FA Cup Final (grandson of John Bird Sumner)Joseph Burton Sumner (1837–1920), American settlerJohn S. Sumner (1876–1971), head of New York Society for the Suppression of Vice from 1915 to 1950Kelly Sumner, British businessmanL. W. Sumner (born 1941), Canadian philosopherMary Sumner (1828–1921), founder of the Mothers' UnionMary Lou Sumner (1927-2002), American politicianRobert Sumner (born 1922), American evangelist and writerSamuel S. Sumner (1842–1937), American generalSarah Sumner (21st century), American Evangelical theologianSophie Sumner (born 1990), British fashion modelSteve Sumner (born 1955), New Zealand football playerT. B. Sumner, American politicianThomas Hubbard Sumner (1807–1876), American marinerTim Sumner (physicist), Professor of Experimental Physics at Imperial College LondonTim Sumner (footballer) (born 1994), Australian rules footballerWalt Sumner (born 1947), American football playerWilliam Graham Sumner (1840–1910), American sociologistWilliam H. Sumner (1780–1861), Boston historical figureWilliam Sumner (Hawaii) (1786–1847), ship captain and early English settler of HawaiiWilliam Keolaloa Sumner (1816–1885), Hawaiian chief and landholderJohn Kapilikea Sumner (1820–1915), Hawaiian chief and landholderNancy Sumner (1839–1896), Hawaiian chiefess and lady-in-waitingElizabeth Keawepoʻoʻole Sumner (1850–1911), Hawaiian chiefess and lady-in-waiting