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Vining History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Vining History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancient history of the Vining name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided in the settlement of Fyning in Rogate, in the county of Sussex. The surname Vining belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Vining family

The surname Vining was first found in Winchester where Robert Fininge is generally understood to be the oldest listing of the family as recorded there (1210-1211.)

A few years later, Thomas Finning was listed in Suffolk in 1228 and later, the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex listed Alan Fynyng in 1332. Ralph de Vynynge was listed to the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327 and Robert Vinning was listed in Somerset in 1641. 1

Early History of the Vining family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Vining research. Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Vining History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Vining Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Vining include Vining, Vineham, Viney, Vinny, Finning, Finnings and others.

Early Notables of the Vining family

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

Vining Ranking

In the United States, the name Vining is the 5,428^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Vining migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Vining or a variant listed above:

Vining Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Vining, who settled in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630
Jonathon Vining, who settled in Virginia in 1635
Jon Vining, who landed in Virginia in 1635 3

Vining Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Vining, who arrived in New York in 1822

Vining migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Vining Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Thomas Vining possessed property at Torbay, Newfoundland, in 1794 4

Vining Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Salmon Vining, who arrived in Canada in 1833
Jared Vining, who arrived in Canada in 1841

Vining migration to Australia +

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

Vining Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Elizabeth Martin Vining, aged 20, a housemaid, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Prince Regent" 5

Vining 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. 6

Vining Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mathew Vining, who settled in Barbados in 1654

Contemporary Notables of the name Vining (post 1700) +

Robert L. Vining Jr. (1931-2022), American lawyer and jurist, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia from 1979 to 2022
Peggy Sue Vining (1929-2017), née Caudle, American poet laureate of the American state of Arkansas
Samuel J. Vining (1864-1914), American politician, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives (1911-1913)
Charles Leroy Vining Jr., (1935-2003), American Democratic Party politician, Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1968 to 1972
Keith Vining, American writer
Steve Vining, American drummer, producer and engineer, president of Savoy Label Group, he produced the Chipmunks' comeback album Chipmunk Punk and supplied the speaking voice of Simon and Theodore for that album
Ken Vining (b. 1974), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Chicago White Sox in the 2001 season
Elizabeth Janet Gray Vining (1902-1999), born Elizabeth Janet Gray, American professional librarian and author, tutor to Emperor Akihito of Japan
John Middleton "Jack" Vining (1758-1802), American lawyer and politician, U.S. Senator from Delaware (1793-1798), Continental Congressman from Delaware (1784-1786)
Pearlie Vining, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from Hamden, 1926 7
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) "PRINCE REGENT" 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849PrinceRegent.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html