The Player Family

Notes about the Player surname

The Player surname may have originated as an occupational surname for actors or musicians.  Variations include Plaw, Play, Plea, Pley, Ple, Ply and Player and Pleyer. The name may also have been given to successful sports competitors in the plai-stow, a field for athletic contests.

I am interested in the Player families from Coventry and London, England. In Coventry, the Players were watchmakers. I have been unable to trace the Player family back farther than the parents of the Coventry watchmaking family: John Player and Patience Byard.

Surname distribution

There are large concentrations of Player families in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Coventry and London.

Important branches on my tree

• John Player and Patience Byard.  John Player is one of my persistent brickwalls.  I’m not sure who is parents are, although I have been able to add details of his life.
• Joseph Player and Eliza Steane.  Joseph Player was a successful watchmaker in Coventry and grandson of John Player and Patience Byard.
• Richard Morgan Player and Jessie Truax. Richard Morgan Player, son of Joseph, emigrated to Canada.  He settled in Tara, Ontario and opened a dairy.

Players on Twigged

• List of individuals with surname Player
• Player photo album on Twigged
• Blog posts on the Player family