Spine History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Spine came to England with the ancestors of the Spine family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Spine family lived in Warwickshire. Their name, however, is a reference to Epineville, Normandy, 1

However, another source has a very different understanding of the origin of this name, claiming the name means: "a thicket; a small plantation. Evidently the same as the Latin spinetum, a bushy place, or patch of thorns. The name is probably another form of Thorne, anciently Latinized 'De Spineto.' In Buckinghamshire, however, spinney means a brook." 2

Early Origins of the Spine family

The surname Spine was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. The Spineys were originally of Spine Villa or Epineville of Scine in Inf in the arrondisement of Yvetot, and held lands in Feltwell in Norfolk and Cloughton in Warwickshire.

Other early records of the family in England include: Robert de la Spinei who was listed in Cheshire in 1198, John atte Spyneye in the Subsidy Rolls for Leicestershire in 1327 and John Spynneye in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1377. 3

Moving to the far south to Devon, we did find this interesting interpretation of the name: "Brismar had also held, and William [the Conqueror)] had succeeded to, the adjacent manors of Bickleigh and Sampford, now Sampford Spiney. The added name, in this latter case, is said to have been derived from its possession by the family of Spinet or De Spineto ; but as the neighbouring parish of Shaugh takes its title from the Saxon sceacga, 'rough coppice,' it is quite as probable that the Spiney here may be simply the allied word spinney." 4

The spellings Spynie and Spiny are fairly popular in Scotland where the name is derived from "Spynie in the parish of the same name in Moray. Henricus ae Spyny was vicar of Banff, 1323. William de Spyny who appears as canon of the church of Moray in 1363 may be the William de Spyny who was procurator for the abbot of Aberbrothoc in 1375. John de Spyny petitioned for a canonry and prebend of Neu and Ros ven in Ros, 1407. Sir William Spyne or Spynie, provost of Thane or Tayne (Tain) in 1509 was dead before 1545." 5 This later source presumes that Espyny recorded in 1394 is of the same family.

Early History of the Spine family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Spine research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1130, 1363, 1371, 1372, 1373, 1388, 1397, 1402 and 1406 are included under the topic Early Spine History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spine Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Spine are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Spine include Spiney, Spinney, Spine, Spines and others.

Early Notables of the Spine family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William de Spynie (died 1406), Scottish prelate, canon of Moray by 1363 and Precentor (Chanter) of Aberdeen in 1371, exchanged the latter position with William Boyl for the Precentorship of Moray (1372-1373), became Dean of Aberdeen by 1388, possibly became Dean of Dunkeld in 1397, elected to be the new Bishop...
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Spine Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spine migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Spine, or a variant listed above:

Spine Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Margaretta Spine, who landed in Maryland in 1679 6

Citations +

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)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
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)