| ![Show Contents]() Beynon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The name Beynon is from the rugged landscape of Wales. It is a Celtic name that was derived from the Welsh personal name Enion, which was also spelled Einion and Eignon. The surname Beynon features the distinctive Welsh patronymic prefix ab-. The original form of the name was ab- Enion,but the prefix has been assimilated into the surname over the course of time and the overall spelling has sometimes been extensively altered. 1 2 "I wrote a series of articles some years ago entitled the 'Romance of the London Directory,' afterwards printed in book form. I stated that Bunyan was Bonjean, and that when we talked of' Good John Bunyan' we simply said 'Good John' twice over. This, I believe, was incorporated in a recent life of the great dreamer. But writing more soberly now, and after more study, I feel fairly confident that Bunyan's ancestry was Welsh. The great personal name of Enion or Eignon has left a very varied number of Welsh surnames, for 'Ab-Enion,' as Benyon will show, played freely with the vowels. " 3 Early Origins of the Beynon familyThe surname Beynon was first found in Bedfordshire where Henry Buniun was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1204. Over one hundred years later, Simon Boynon was found in Bedfordshire in the Subsidy Rolls of 1309. 4 "In 1199 one William Buniun held land at Wilstead, a mile from Elstow [Bedfordshire]. In 1327 one of the same name, probably his descendant, William Boynon, was living at the hamlet of Harrowden, at the south-eastern boundary of the parish, close to the very spot which tradition marks out as John Bunyan's birthplace, and which the local names of 'Bunyan's End,' 'Bunyan's Walk,' and 'Farther Bunyan's' (as old, certainly, as the middle of the sixteenth century) connect beyond all question with the Bunyan family. A field known as 'Bonyon's End' was sold in 1548 by 'Thomas Bonyon of Elstow, labourer,' son of William Bonyon, to Robert Curtis, and other portions of his ancestral properly gradually passed to other purchasers, little being left to descend to John Bunyan's grandfather, Thomas Bunyan (d. 1641), save the 'cottage or tenement' in which he carried on the occupation of 'petty chapman,' or small retail trader." 5 "As Roger and John Buignon were sons of John Buignon, the surname, which has been noted only in Bedfordshire, was already hereditary in 1227 (Assize Rolls of Bedfordshire), when it appears as Buingon, Buinon, Buignon and Bungnon in the neighbourhood of Ampthill and Bedford." 4 Early History of the Beynon familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beynon research. Another 148 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1046, 1204, 1227, 1309, 1628 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Beynon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Beynon Spelling VariationsAlthough there are comparatively few Welsh surnames, they have a great many spelling variations. Variations of Welsh names began almost immediately after their acceptance within Welsh society. In the Middle Ages, it was up to priests and the few other people that recorded names in official documents to decide how to spell the names that they heard. Variations that occurred because of improper recording increased dramatically as the names were later transliterated into English. The Brythonic Celtic language of Wales, known by natives as Cymraeg, featured many highly inflected sounds that could not be properly captured by the English language. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations were all indicated by the particular variation of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Beynon have included Bunyon, Banyen, Benion, Benyan, Benyon, Bunyan, Bunyen, Banion, Banyan, O'Banion, O'Benyon and many more. Early Notables of the Beynon familyProminent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was John Bunyan (1628-1688), author of "Pilgrim's Progress" and many other works. He was born at the village of Elstow, Bedfordshire, a little more than a mile south of the town of Bedford, in November 1628. The family of Buignon, Buniun...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Beynon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Beynon family to Ireland
Some of the Beynon family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Beynon migration to the United States | + |
Many Welsh joined the great migrations to North America in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Like their Scottish and Irish neighbors, many Welsh families left their homeland hoping to find hope and prosperity in a land that the English did not exercise a tight rule over. Those Welsh immigrants that successfully traveled to North America went on to make significant contributions to the rapid development of both Canada and the United States in terms of the settling of land and the establishment of industry. They also added to the rich cultural heritage of both countries. An examination into the immigration and passenger lists has discovered a number of people bearing the name Beynon:
Beynon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- David Beynon, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1849 6
- Dowen Beynon, aged 27, who landed in New York in 1864 6
- Jane Beynon, aged 28, who arrived in New York in 1864 6
- John Beynon, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1872 6
- W I Beynon, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1887 6
| Beynon migration to Australia | + |
Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include: Beynon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century- Mr. John Beynon, Welsh convict who was convicted in Glamorgan, Glamorganshire, Wales for life, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 29th April 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
- John Morris Beynon, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "The Stratheden" in 1850 8
| Contemporary Notables of the name Beynon (post 1700) | + |
- Len Beynon (1912-1992), Welsh professional championship boxer
- Benjamin "Ben" Beynon (1894-1969), Welsh international rugby union player
- Sir William John Granville Beynon FRS (1914-1996), Welsh physicist
- John David Emrys Beynon (b. 1939), Welsh academic, the 17th Principal of King's College London (1990-1992)
- Sir John Wyndham Beynon CBE (1864-1944), 1st Baronet, a Welsh iron and steel manufacturer and coal owner
- Claire Beynon (b. 1960), South African-born, New Zealand artist based in Dunedin
- Bill Beynon (1891-1932), Welsh boxer, winner of the British and Empire bantamweight boxing championship in 1913
- William Beynon (1888-1958), Canadian hereditary chief from the Tsimshian nation, his father was a Welsh steamer-captain "Captain Billy" Beynon
| Historic Events for the Beynon family | + |
Senghenydd colliery - Mr. John Lewis Beynon (b. 1881), Welsh coal miner from Abertridwr, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. 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)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
- State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The STRATHEDEN 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Stratheden.htm
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Beynon migration to the United States 
Beynon migration to Australia 
Wales
Ireland
