Show ContentsKingsmel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Anglo-Saxon name Kingsmel comes from the family having resided close to or beside the King's mill. Kingsmel is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties.

Early Origins of the Kingsmel family

The surname Kingsmel was first found in Hampshire where in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 "Hugo de la Kingesmille 'Hugh of the King's Mill' was one of the jurors who gave evidence during an inquisition touching the manors belonging to that monarch in Hampshire." 1 The same rolls lists Peter de Kingesmill in Wiltshire. 2

Early History of the Kingsmel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kingsmel research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1260, 1465, 1504, 1509, 1538, 1541, 1549, 1556, 1569, 1605, 1661, 1677, 1720 and 1823 are included under the topic Early Kingsmel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kingsmel Spelling Variations

Kingsmel has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Kingsmill, Kingsmell and others.

Early Notables of the Kingsmel family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir John Kingsmill (1465-1509), Justice of the Common Pleas; Andrew Kingsmill (1538-1569), English puritan divine from Sidmonton, Hampshire; Thomas Kingsmill (fl. 1605), English regius professor of Hebrew at Oxford; Richard Kingsmill (d. 1677), English Baptist minister and...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kingsmel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Kingsmel family to Ireland

Some of the Kingsmel family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kingsmel family

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Kingsmels to arrive on North American shores: Richard Kingsmell settled with his wife Jane and son and daughter in Virginia in 1624; James Kingsmill settled in Virginia in 1635.



  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)


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