Sumner is a surname.
It originates from the English-language word that is spelt, 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.
[citation needed] Notable people with this surname include: