Show ContentsGurnsey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Gurnsey family

The surname Gurnsey was first found in Hampshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, [1] indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Ansneville, a commission of Duke William in 1050 from the island of Guernsey, taken by pirates in the island hand who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Gurnsey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gurnsey research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1061 and 1066 are included under the topic Early Gurnsey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gurnsey Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Guernesy, Gourneys, Gurnsey and others.

Early Notables of the Gurnsey family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • the Gurnsey family of Guernsey


Australia Gurnsey migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Gurnsey Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Gurnsey (post 1700) +

  • Ezekiel B. Gurnsey, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Chautauqua County 2nd District, 1849 [3]
  • Frederick George Gurnsey (1868-1953), Welsh-born, New Zealand carver and art teacher


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barwell
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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