Conyton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The history of the Conyton family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Cambridgeshire, in the parish of Connington.

Early Origins of the Conyton family

The surname Conyton was first found in Cambridgeshire, at Conington, a parish, in the union of St. Ives, hundred of Papworth. "The lordship, together with the ancient castle, of which there are some vestiges in the village, was given by Canute to Turkill, a Danish lord, who, taking advantage of his residence among the East Angles, invited over Sueno to plunder the country.

After Turkill's departure it fell to Waldeof, Earl of Huntingdon, who married Judith, niece to the Conqueror, from whom it descended to the royal line of Scotland. " 1

Accordingly, the place name literally means "The king's manor, the royal estate," from the Old Scandinavian word "konunger" + the Old English word "tun." 2 It was listed twice in the Domesday Book of 1086, once as Coninctune and secondly as Cunitone. 3

One of the first on records was Richard Conyngton (d. 1330), Franciscan, who "studied at the university of Oxford, where he proceeded to the degree of doctor in theology. He must also have lived for some time on the continent, since a younger contemporary, the famous John Baconthorpe, says he was a pupil of Henry of Ghent. Conyngton was held in high repute as a schoolman." 4

Early History of the Conyton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Conyton research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1273 and 1340 are included under the topic Early Conyton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Conyton Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Connington, Connigton, Conitone, Conyton, Coniton, Conintone and many more.

Early Notables of the Conyton family

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

Migration of the Conyton family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Conyton or a variant listed above were: Wm. Connington, who arrived in Baltimore in 1676; William Connington, who arrived in Maryland in 1676; Naomi Connis, who arrived in Boston in 1702; Lewis Connington, who settled in America in 1757.

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)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print