Kimbel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the name Kimbel begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from Buckinghamshire at either Great Kimble or Little Kimble, parishes in the union of Wycombe, hundred of Aylesbury. "[Great Kimble] according to old records, was anciently called Kunebel, from Cunobelin, or Cymbeline, the British king, whose sons here gallantly opposed the Romans, but were defeated, and one of them slain. There are still the remains of several intrenchments on the supposed field of battle; and on a circular mound in the neighbourhood are vestiges of a fortification termed Belinus' Castle, where it is said Cunobelin dwelt. " 1

Both places are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 collectively as Chenebelle, and literally meant "royal bell-shaped hill," from the Old English words "cyne" + "bell." 2

Early Origins of the Kimbel family

The surname Kimbel was first found in Wiltshire where Turbet filius Chembel was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1130. A few years later, Richard Cembel was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Huntingdonshire, and later Roger Cumbel, Chimbel, Kymbel, Kimbel was found in the Pipe Rolls for Warwickshire, 1191-1193. Over in Suffolk, John Kennebelle was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1327. 3

Robert Kinebald was found in Somerset 1215-1221; Ralph Kenebold in the 13th century on the Isle of Wight; William Kembald in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1302; William Kenebold and Nicholas Kembol, both in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 3

Hugo de Kenebell was found in the Curia Regis Rolls for Berkshire in 1196; Roger de Kinebelle in the Hundredorum Rolls for Berkshire in 1255; and Thomas de Kymble was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Cambridgeshire in 1327. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two entries for the family: Richard de Kinebell Buckinghamshire; and John de Kinebelle, Oxfordshire. 4

In Norfolk, Nicholas Kymbell was listed there 3 Henry IV (during the third year of King Henry IV's reign.) 5

Early History of the Kimbel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kimbel research. Another 187 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1196, 1599, 1625, 1654, 1657, 1678, 1679, 1680, 1721, 1729, 1736, 1742, 1751, 1752, 1754, 1758, 1802, 1804 and 1822 are included under the topic Early Kimbel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kimbel Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore, spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Kimbel has been recorded under many different variations, including Kimball, Kimbell, Kimbel, Kemple, Kemble, Kimble and others.

Early Notables of the Kimbel family

Notables of the family at this time include Saint John Kemble (1599-1679), an English Roman Catholic martyr, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He "appears to have been son of George Kemble of Longford, Herefordshire. He was ordained priest at Douay 23 Feb. 1625, and on 4 June was sent on the mission in Herefordshire. In 1678, at the time of the Popish plot, he was seized at Pembridge Castle, Herefordshire, where he was living as chaplain to the Scudamore family. He was tried at Hereford, convicted as having said mass at Pembridge, and executed at Widemarsh Common...
Another 256 words (18 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kimbel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kimbel migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Kimbel or a variant listed above:

Kimbel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. Fried. Kimbel, aged 23, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1845 aboard the ship "B. Bohlen"
Mr. Hein. Kimbel, aged 25, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Gerhard Hermann"
Mr. Phil. Kimbel, aged 25, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Gerhard Hermann"
Annie Kimbel, aged 32, who arrived in Nebraska in 1880 6
Henry Kimbel, aged 31, who landed in Nebraska in 1880 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Kimbel (post 1700) +

William "Bill" Kimbel (1954-2022), American paleoanthropologist specializing in Plio-Pleistocene hominid evolution in Africa, Director of the Institute of Human Origins and Virginia M. Ullman Professor of Natural History and the Environment in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. 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)