Show ContentsKinsel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Today's Irish surnames are underpinned by a multitude of rich histories. The name Kinsel originally appeared in Gaelic as Cinnsealach. This surname is derived from the Clan name Ui Ceinnsealaigh.

Early Origins of the Kinsel family

The surname Kinsel was first found in County Wexford (Irish: Loch Garman), founded by Vikings as Waesfjord, and located in Southeastern Ireland, in the province of Leinster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Kinsel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kinsel research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kinsel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kinsel Spelling Variations

The Middle Ages saw a great number of spelling variations for surnames common to the Irish landscape. One reason for these variations is the fact that surnames were not rigidly fixed by this period. The following variations for the name Kinsel were encountered in the archives: Kinsella, Kinsellagh, Kincheloe,Kenselloe, Kinsello and many more.

Early Notables of the Kinsel family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • Bonaventure Kinsella fought in the Irish army


United States Kinsel migration to the United States +

Death and immigration greatly reduced Ireland's population in the 19th century. For the native Irish people poverty, hunger, and racial prejudice was common. Therefore, thousands left their homeland to seek opportunity in North America. Those who survived the journey and the quarantine camps to which they arrived, were instrumental towards building the strong developing nations of the United States and the future Canada. By far, the largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These were employed as construction or factory workers. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has shown early immigrants bearing the name Kinsel:

Kinsel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Joh Henrich Kinsel, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1752 1


  1. 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)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook