Kang History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The earliest origins of the Kang surname date from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name reveals that an early member was a person who lived and acted like a king. It is derived from the Old English cyning or cyng, meaning "king," and was probably first bestowed as a nickname upon someone who was kingly in personality or appearance, or perhaps to someone who had played the king in a pageant.

As one source notes, it is curious that the name "Queen" is not as popular as it should be given the similar importance of the title in ancient times. 1

Early Origins of the Kang family

The surname Kang was first found in Devon, where the name was first found about 1050. 2 Geoffrey King brought the name to Cheshire in 1177 and by 1273 John King had established lands and estates in the county of Norfolk as evidenced by John le Kyng who was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of Norfolk at that time. The Hundredorum Rolls also lists Walter le Kyng in Cambridgeshire. 1

Regional distribution of the name is interesting. "Mostly confined south of a line drawn from the Wash to the southern border of Shropshire. North of this line the name rapidly diminishes in frequency, being absent from my list in nearly all the counties thus marked off. It is rare also in the extreme south - west, in Devon and Cornwall. It is best represented in Beds, Bucks, Suffolk, and Wilts. The name is sparingly represented in Scotland." 3

In Scotland, it was "a surname of some antiquity and still met with in many parts of the country, Berwick, Fife, and Aberdeen. The first of the name recorded in Aberdeenshire is "Robertus dictus King" who bequeathed to the prior and convent of St. Andrews land in that shire which was the subject of a convention in 1247 between his brother's daughter, Goda, and the prior and convent." 4

Early History of the Kang family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kang research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1247, 1421, 1432, 1467, 1500, 1503, 1592, 1600, 1606, 1611, 1621, 1637, 1648, 1659, 1660, 1661, 1663, 1669, 1676, 1679, 1681, 1688, 1706, 1712, 1717, 1797 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Kang History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kang Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Kang are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Kang include: King, Kings and others.

Early Notables of the Kang family

Distinguished members of the family include Oliver King (c.1432-1503) was a Bishop of Exeter and Bishop of Bath and Wells who restored Bath Abbey after 1500; Robert King LL.D. (1600-1676), an English jurist and Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge; John King (died 1621), Bishop of London in the Church of England from 1611 to 1621; Henry King (1592-1669), an English poet and bishop; Edward King (c. 1606-1681), an English lawyer and politician, Member of Parliament for Grimsby (1660) and supporter of the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War...
Another 89 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kang Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kang Ranking

In the United States, the name Kang is the 2,401^st most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 5 However, in Canada, the name Kang is ranked the 832^nd most popular surname with an estimated 6,455 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Kang family to Ireland

Some of the Kang family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 108 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kang migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Kang or a variant listed above:

Kang Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johan Peter Kang, who landed in New York, NY in 1710-1714 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Kang (post 1700) +

Sukhee Kang, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2000 8
Parvinder Kang, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1996 8
Diana S. Kang, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1988 8

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html