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Kidney History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Kidney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Kidney name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in the village of Gedney in the county of Lincolnshire. The place-name is derived from the Old English Gyddan-ea, which literally means Gydda's island. Another source notes the place name probably means "island or well-watered land of a man called Gaeda or Gydda," from the Old English personal name. 1

Early Origins of the Kidney family

The surname Kidney was first found in Lincolnshire at Gedney, a village and civil parish in the South Holland district that dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was listed as Gadenai. 2

"The church [of Gedney] is a beautiful structure, supposed to have been built by the abbots of Crowland, who had large possessions in the parish; it contains 53 windows, those of the north aisle having considerable remains of painted glass." 3

Today the parish includes the hamlets of Gedney Drove End, Gedney Dyke, Gedney Dawsmere, and Gedney Marsh.

One of the first records of the family was found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where Hervey de Gedeney was listed in Lincolnshire. 4

Early History of the Kidney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kidney research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1640, 1698 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Kidney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kidney Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Kidney has undergone many spelling variations, including Gidney, Gibney, Gedney, Gibbney and others.

Early Notables of the Kidney family

Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kidney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kidney Ranking

In the United States, the name Kidney is the 18,626^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Kidney family to Ireland

Some of the Kidney family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kidney migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Kidney were among those contributors:

Kidney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert, Kidney Jr., who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1840 6
John Kidney, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 6

Kidney Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

William Kidney, who landed in Arkansas in 1902 6

Kidney migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Kidney Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Timothy Kidney, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1843

Kidney migration to Australia +

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

Kidney Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Samuel Kidney, British Convict who was convicted in Kent, England for life, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Michael Kidney, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Anson" on September 23, 1843, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
Thomas Kidney, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Macedon" 9
Julia Kidney, aged 22, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Australia"
Henry Kidney, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Utopia"
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Kidney (post 1700) +

Charles J. Kidney, American politician, Representative from Massachusetts 10th District, 1908 10

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anson voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1843 with 499 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anson/1843
South Australian Register Tuesday 11 January 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MACEDON 1853. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/macedon1853.shtml
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html