Contents [hide]

Rainey History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Rainey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Among the all the peoples of ancient Scotland, the first to use the name Rainey were the Strathclyde-Britons. It was a name for someone who lived in De Reiney, or Rigny, in Champagne, France. "Hagebert de Rigneio, in 1101, witnessed a charter of the Bishop of Tulle, and may have been the same that possessed lands in Essex in 1086 1 Roger de Reigny witnessed a charter of Bishop Roger of Sarum, temp. Hen. I., and Robert de Reigny held five fees in Devon in 1165." 2 Newton-Reigny, in the Forest of Inglewood, was their seat in Cumberland. 3

Early Origins of the Rainey family

The surname Rainey was first found in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), part of the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire.

"The Ranys or Rennys were extensive owners of land in the district of Craig in Angus from the middle of the fifteenth century, and the Rennies of Usan were recognized as an old family. Symon Renny was bailie of Inverkeithing in 1362. John Rayny, pelliparius, was burgess of Stirling in 1436." 4

Early History of the Rainey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rainey research. Another 187 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1402, 1409, 1526, 1572, 1592, 1798 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Rainey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rainey Spelling Variations

The variation in the spelling of Medieval names is a result of the lack of spelling rules in the English language prior to the last few hundred years. Before that time, scribes spelled according to sound, often varying the spelling of name within a single document. Rainey has appeared as Rayney, Rainy, Rainey, Rainnie, Rennie, Renny and many more.

Early Notables of the Rainey family

More information is included under the topic Early Rainey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rainey Ranking

In the United States, the name Rainey is the 1,261^st most popular surname with an estimated 24,870 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Rainey family to Ireland

Some of the Rainey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 124 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rainey migration to the United States +

As the persecution of Clan families continued, they sailed for North America in increasing numbers. In most cases, they found the freedom and opportunity they sought. Land was often available and the American War of Independence allowed Scots an opportunity to solidify their independence from the English crown. These settlers and their ancestors went on to play essential roles in the forging of the nations of the United States and Canada. Among them:

Rainey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johnston Rainey who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1763
Elizabeth Rainey, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1773

Rainey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J Rainey, who landed in New York, NY in 1812 6
James Rainey, who arrived in New York, NY in 1815 6
Robert Rainey, aged 45, who landed in New York, NY in 1822 6
William B Rainey, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1845 6
Henry Rainey, who settled in New Castle Co. Del. in 1855
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rainey migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Rainey Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mrs. Mary Rainey, (b. 1840), aged 21, Irish settler, from Antrim travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 7
Mr. Robert Rainey, (b. 1841), aged 20, Irish farm labourer, from Antrim travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 7
Mr. Hugh Rainey, (b. 1840), aged 21, Irish farm labourer from County Down travelling from London aboard the ship "Victoria" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th March 1862 7
Mrs. Eliza Rainey, (b. 1842), aged 19, Irish settler from County Down travelling from London aboard the ship "Victoria" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th March 1862 7
Miss Eliza Rainey, (b. 1838), aged 27, British dairymaid travelling from London aboard the ship "Greyhound" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 7th May 1865 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rainey migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9

Rainey Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Arthur Rainey, who landed in Barbados in 1803 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Rainey (post 1700) +

Christopher Arthur "Chris" Rainey (b. 1988), American NFL football running back
Joseph Hayne Rainey (1832-1887), first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives
Charles "Chuck" Walter Rainey III (b. 1940), American bass guitar session musician
Charles "Chuck" Rainey (b. 1954), American former Major League Baseball pitcher
Henry Thomas Rainey (1860-1934), American politician, 45th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1933-1934)
Ford Rainey (1908-2005), American film, stage and television actor
Wayne Rainey (b. 1960), American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer
Stephen Mark Rainey (b. 1959), American author of novels, short stories
Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett "Ma" Rainey (1886-1939), one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record
Charles Rainey, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Alabama, 1948, 1952 10
... (Another 24 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
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/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html