Kaner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The ancestors of the Kaner family were part of an ancient Scottish tribe called the Picts. They lived in the lands of Kinnear, which lie near Wormit in the county of Fife. 1 The name literally means "chieftain." 2

Early Origins of the Kaner family

The surname Kaner was first found in Fife, from the lands of Kin-near near Wormit. The family descend from "Symon, son of Michael, [who] gave a carucate of land of Cathelai to the church of St. Andrews. His grant was confirmed by King Malcolm IV, and King William confirmed the grant of Chathelach, with common pasture for twenty-four beasts, and eighty sheep, which Symon, son of Michael gave, and his son Alan confirmed. The descendants of Symon took the name of Kinnear, and were the vassals of the Priory of St. Andrews in the lands of Kathlac, etc., which they held till the beginning of the eighteenth century. Reginald de Kener witnessed gift of one mark of silver annually by Alexander, earl of Buchan to the Abbey of Arnbroath, c. 1250." 3

Early History of the Kaner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kaner research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1170, 1216, 1296, 1439, 1457, 1477, 1536, 1543, 1574, 1600, 1602, 1782, 1802, 1813, 1814, 1818 and 1830 are included under the topic Early Kaner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kaner Spelling Variations

Prior to the invention of the printing press in the last hundred years, documents were basically unique. Names were written according to sound, and often appeared differently each time they were recorded. Spelling variations of the name Kaner include Kinnear, Kynnier, Kynnair, Kenneir, Kinner, Kinnier, MacEnir and many more.

Early Notables of the Kaner family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was Petrus Kyrior who was elected common councillor of Aberdeen, 1477; John de Kynor who was admitted burgess of Aberdeen, 1439; and Adam Kynnor in 1457. 3Sir John MacDonald Kinneir (1782-1830), was Lieutenant-Colonel H.E.I.C.S., traveller and diplomatist, born at Carnden, Linlithgow, on 3 Feb. 1782, and was the son of John Macdonald, comptroller of customs at Borrowstounness, and Mrs. Cecilia Maria Kinneir. "In 1802 he was nominated to a cadetship by Sir William Bensley, under the name...
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kaner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kaner family to Ireland

Some of the Kaner family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kaner migration to the United States +

The freedom of the North American colonies was enticing, and many Scots left to make the great crossing. It was a long and hard journey, but its reward was a place where there was more land than people and tolerance was far easier to come by. Many of these people came together to fight for a new nation in the American War of Independence, while others remained loyal to the old order as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of Scots in North America have recovered much of this heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and other such organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important and early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Kaner:

Kaner Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Kaner, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1878 4
Mr. A. Kaner, aged 23, German settler who arrived in New York in 1893 aboard the ship "Cneruskia" 5

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Sims, Clifford Stanley The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. 1862. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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)
Germans to America retrieved 21st October 2021. Retrieved from Glazier, Ira. A., and Filby, P. William. Germans to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports. Vol. 62, Scholarly Resources Inc, 2145