European Origins
"That the name Imus is of Latin derivation there can be no doubt." (R.M. Imus)
['The name Imus means 'son of Immuse' and Cassell's New Latin Dictionary defines Imus as the superlative form of inferus, meaning 'lowest, meanest, below, lower, dead, the lower world. To speak from the body of the Court, the end.' J.A. Cunningham's specious note]
Raymond McKinley Imus continues: "We can reasonably expect to find some family living along the shores of the northern Mediterranean about the year 1000 bearing this name. Perhaps there is living in Spain today an Imus family who would point with pride to their aristocratic ancestors prominent in Spain's conquest of the new world and that period of colonization which was unhappily terminated by the defeat of the Spanish Armada. That there were Imuses living in Spain in the 15th century there can be no doubt. A few miles south of Manila, in the Philippines, there is a town called Imus. An inquiry into the origin of this town brought the following reply:
'On March 16th in the year 1521, Magellan discovered the Philippines. Later the Spanish throne sent generals and Catholic priests to establish a civil government and do missionary work. An old parson died in this city. He was an honest and faithful servant of God, so the people named the town after him. His name was Jose P. Imus. He was a Spaniard.' Signed Emilio Francisco.
"How or why the Imuses came to Spain and later to England will probably remain unknown" (R.M. Imus).
BASQUES?
Another speculative possibility is the Basque connection. When the International Genealogical Index (IGI) is asked to search for the name Imus in Spain, it comes up with hundreds of candidates. These are mostly from the Basque province of Navarre and are the source of the name of the village south of Manila in the Philippines. According to the Diccionario Onomastico y Heraldico Vasco by Jaime de Querexeta. V. 3, Bilbao, 1972, p. 57, there are a number of lines of families named Imaz (also Imas, Ymaz, Imatz) in the villages around Pamplona, one of which is named Imoz. And this is confirmed by El Solar Vasco Navarro by A. y A. Garcia Carrafta, v. 4, San Sebastian, 1957, pp. 183-4.
From Querexeta: "IMAZ o YMAZ.--1. Dos en Lazkano, llamadas "garaikoa" (la de suso) y "azpikoa" (la de yuso), Alza, Urnieta, Segura, Tolosa, Ataun, Azpeitia y Onate (todo en G[uipuzkoa]; pasaron a Durango (B[izkaia]), Nabarra y Argentina. 2. Ver Imaz. 3. En Onate (1596), Ataun (1644, 1647 y 1765), Gatzaga-Salinas de Leniz (1756), Amezketa (1773), Segura (1790), Bilbao (1750, pero no hay sentencia; 1767, 1818 y 1830). Cab. de Calatrava en 1799, de Carlos III en 1817, 1836 y 1838. Descendiente de Lazkano y vec. de Onate en 1530. 4. La casa de Lazkano: en gules, un arbol, de su color natural, y dos lobos, tambien de su color natural, al pie del tronco, andantes y encontrados. La casa "garaikoa", de Lazkano, segun Arevalo: en gules, una banda de oro, acompanada, en lo alto, de cinco panelas de plata, y en lo bajo, de cinco calderas de sable, perfiladas de plata y puestas en aspa. La de "azpikoa", segun el mismo: en gules, una banda de oro, acompanada, en lo alto, de tres panelas de plata, puestas en triangulo, y
en lo bajo, de tres calderas de sable, perfiladas de plata y puestas tambien en triangulo. Otos Imaz, en Gipuzkoa: en azur, un castillo de piedra, de cuya torre del homenaje sale un brazo armado con una espada, rota, en la mano, y, cayendo de una almena, una cabeza de moro con turbante. Bordura de gules, con ocho aspas de oro. Otros, segun Cadenas y Vicent: en plata, dos lobos pasantes, de sable, puestos en palo. Bordura de azur, con ocho aspas de oro. Otros, segun la Nobleza Executoriada de Nabarra: las armas son, en un cuarto campo colorado, un arbol verde dentro de el y dos lobos negros en cada lado, mirando a el." p. 57.
The significance of these Imaz for Imus genealogy is unclear. Medieval Basque emigration to England is not known to have occurred, but trading relations existed between Navarre and England in the 14th century.
Jerald A. Cunningham continues: "But early English records report:
'Thomas Immus was listed in the Assize rolls in Somerset County in 1243. John Imus and Joone Stockwell were married at Christchurch, Newgate, London on December 14, 1579. James Imuss, a mariner and Susanna Tremaine were married in the parish of St Minver, County Cornwall, on Aug 15, 1623. From the parish of St James Duke's place, Algate, London [in the old Jewry]: Married Aug 6, 1706 William Imuss a Bach[elor?] of Algate and Mary Robinson, widow of White Chapel. Married July 1, 1708 William Imus, widower of Harlow, County Essex, and Elizabeth Slater, single, of Littliton, County Middelsex.' (Research by William H. Compton, Knoxville, TN)."
I have been doing some checking and the results are disturbingly negative. I don't know who William H. Compton, Knoxville, TN, is, but each item of his "research" that I have been able to check is WRONG.
(1) The Assize roll for Somerset is published in Somerset Records Society 4 vols. 1897-1929. The relevant entry reads "Thomas Imme 1243." It is so listed in P. H. Raney, A Dictionary of British Surnames. London, 1958. p. 126.
(2) The Harleian Society published Registers of Christ Church Newgate. 1538-1754. vol. 21. Ed. by W. A. Littlehale. London, 1895. No entry for Dec. 14, 1579. But for Feb. 14, we find "John Ines married Joone Stockwell." p. 203.
(3) In London Parish Registers V. 4. Marriages at St. James's Duke's Place. London: Phillimore, 1902, we find "Aug. 6, 1706, married, William Iles and Mary Robinson" p. 66, and "July 1, 1708, married, William Iles and Elizabeth Slater." p. 84.
(4) In Boyd's Marriage Index for Cornwall. Ser. 1, vol. 3. 1601-1625, there is no "Imuss" or "Susanna Tremaine" either.
Raymond McKinley Imus continues: "There was living in London about the year 1700 a wealthy jeweler named Joseph Imus. The facts show that this London merchant became quite well to do and married a sister of Lord Sterling. To this union were born two sons, Alonzo and William. The younger proved to be too democratic to suit the aristocratic tastes of his parents. William was born in London in May of 1739. His father took him into the establishment and he was apprenticed to learn the goldsmith's trade."
I am also beginning to worry about Raymond's sources and their reliability. There is no Imus -- Joseph, William or otherwise -- in the following: Heal, Sir Ambrose. The London Goldsmith, 1200-1800. Cambridge, 1935. (Reprinted David & Charles, 1972). This is an exhaustive list of names and dates. Several Josephs around the right dates, none with an apprenticed son William, and there is not an Alonzo, or indeed any Spanish goldsmith in the lot. Nor in Grimwalde, Arthur G. London Goldsmiths 1697-1837. Their Marks and Lives. London: Faber, 1976. This embellishes upon Heal with brief biographies. Mostly English, some French Huguenots, a few Dutch Jews. No Spaniards. I also tried many phonetic variants of the family name, especially "Himas", since he may have been a Cockney. If not a figment. I think the whole story of "Joseph Imus, Spanish goldsmith of London" is a crock, and not of gold!
Since I wrote the above, I have come across a Ferdinando Hymus and his wife Anne, who had three daughters, all christened at Saint Olave, Southwark, London: Anne on 27 Sep 1702, Ellenor on 20 May 1704, and Isabella on 2 Jan 1706. There is no indication of his occupation. There seems to be a gap in the parish registers of Saint Olave between 1720 and 1753.
Finally, there is the suggested derivation of Imus directly from the Latin entry in Cassell's New Latin Dictionary. This is misleading. Imus as a variant of infimus is extremely rare and literary. There is no evidence that any personal name ever derived from it. A vastly more frequent use of imus is as the 1st person plural, present indicative of the common verb ire "to go." Thus imus means "we go." As such it might have formed part of a family motto, such as "Coelum imus", "We're going to heaven", or like that of the Atty family--"Eamus quo ducit fortuna," "We will go where fortune leads." Or it might have been taken as a nom de guerre. This, indeed, was the legend in my mother's branch of the family. When the founding fathers, whatever their name, left England, it was said that they adopted a pseudonym. "Imus"--"We go" and they went! At first I rejected this as romance. But having searched dozens of record indices, of every variety, vainly looking for Imus as a genuine English surname, I'm ready for romance.