Origin of the Name Punch
The origin of the name Punch
was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Variants of Punch include Poyntz, Pons and Ponce. This sept came from Ulster .
A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. Irish septs and clans that are related often belong to even larger groups, sometimes called tribes.
This name is derived from the Latin-Norman forename 'Poncius', which became Pons and Ponz in France and Poyntz and Ponce in Ireland . It is found in records as far back as the 13th century in Ireland where it was introduced with the Anglo-Norman Invasion. After the 16th century references to the name become more frequent. Part of the family came to Ulster at the time of the Plantation at the beginning of the 17th century and they are celebrated by the placename Poyntzpass, between Newry and Portadown, in County Armagh. There were also several families named Poyntz located in County Kerry in the 18th century, they being influential in the town of Tralee.
The Punch coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Punch descendants.