|
![Show Contents]() Cunnesham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The origins of the name Cunnesham are from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from Kynes-man which in Old English referred to a cousin or relative. In Old English, patronyms were formed by adding a variety of suffixes to personal names, which changed over time and from place to place. For example, after the Norman Conquest, sunu and sune, which meant son, were the most common patronymic suffixes. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the most common patronymic names included the word filius, which meant son. By the 14th century, the suffix son had replaced these earlier versions. Surnames that were formed with filius or son were more common in the north of England and it was here that the number of individuals without surnames was greatest at this time. Early Origins of the Cunnesham familyThe surname Cunnesham was first found in Norfolk, where they held a family seat from early times. Early History of the Cunnesham familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cunnesham research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1198, 1275, 1588, 1589, 1676, 1682, 1715 and 1770 are included under the topic Early Cunnesham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Cunnesham Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Cunnesham family name include Kinsman, Cunesman, Kinesman and others. Early Notables of the Cunnesham familyAnother 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cunnesham Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Cunnesham familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Cunnesham surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Robert Kinsman who arrived in America in 1634; John Kinsman who sailed to Pennsylvania in 1682 and Isaac Kinsman who arrived in Colorado in 1682.
|
