Show ContentsKingsmell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Kingsmell is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family lived close to or beside the King's mill. Kingsmell 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 Kingsmell family

The surname Kingsmell 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 Kingsmell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kingsmell 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 Kingsmell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kingsmell Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Kingsmell has been spelled many different ways, including Kingsmill, Kingsmell and others.

Early Notables of the Kingsmell 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 Kingsmell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Kingsmell family to Ireland

Some of the Kingsmell 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.


United States Kingsmell migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Kingsmells to arrive in North America:

Kingsmell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Mrs. Jane Kingsmell, who arrived in Virginia in 1624 aboard the ship "Susan" 3
  • Richard Kingsmell, who landed in Virginia in 1624 aboard the ship "Delware" 3


  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)
  3. 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)


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