Hinckle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestry of the name Hinckle dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived at Hinckley, in Leicestershire. The place-name Hinckley is derived from the Old English personal name Hynca, and leah, an Old English word that meant "forest clearing."

Early Origins of the Hinckle family

The surname Hinckle was first found in Leicestershire at Hinckley, a market town and parish that dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed as Hinchelie. 1

"This place was created a barony soon after the Conquest, and was held by Hugh de Grentismenil, seneschal of England in the reigns of William Rufus and Henry I., who erected a stately castle and a church, and founded a small priory of Benedictine monks, which, before 1173, was granted as a cell to the abbey of Lyra, in Normandy, by Robert Blanchmaines, Earl of Leicester." 2

One of the first records of the family was Anfred de Hinkelai who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Leicestershire in 1176. A few years later, Roger de Hinckelee was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Wiltshire in 1208 and later again, John de Hynkeley was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Staffordshire in 1332. 3

Early History of the Hinckle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hinckle research. Another 66 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1322, 1617, 1618, 1634, 1680, 1686, 1695 and 1706 are included under the topic Early Hinckle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hinckle Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Hinckle have been found, including Hinkley, Hinkler, Hincle, Hinchley, Hinckley and others.

Early Notables of the Hinckle family

Distinguished members of the family include

Thomas Hinckley (1618-1706), English immigrant to New England in 1634 from Tenterden, Kent, 14th Governor of Plymouth Colony (1680-1686.)
John Hinckley (1617?-1695), was an English controversialist, born about 1617, the son of Robert Hinckley of Coughton, Warwickshire, and was 'puritanically educated.' 4

Hinckle migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Hinckle, or a variant listed above:

Hinckle Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henrich Hinckle, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1755 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Hinckle (post 1700) +

Warren James Hinckle III (1938-2016), American political journalist

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)