Spinney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought much change to the island nation, including many immigrants with new names. Among these immigrants were the ancestors of the Spinney family, who lived in Warwickshire. Their name, however, is a reference to Epineville, Normandy, 1

However, another source has a very different understanding of the origin of this name, claiming the name means: "a thicket; a small plantation. Evidently the same as the Latin spinetum, a bushy place, or patch of thorns. The name is probably another form of Thorne, anciently Latinized 'De Spineto.' In Buckinghamshire, however, spinney means a brook." 2

Early Origins of the Spinney family

The surname Spinney was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. The Spineys were originally of Spine Villa or Epineville of Scine in Inf in the arrondisement of Yvetot, and held lands in Feltwell in Norfolk and Cloughton in Warwickshire.

Other early records of the family in England include: Robert de la Spinei who was listed in Cheshire in 1198, John atte Spyneye in the Subsidy Rolls for Leicestershire in 1327 and John Spynneye in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1377. 3

Moving to the far south to Devon, we did find this interesting interpretation of the name: "Brismar had also held, and William [the Conqueror)] had succeeded to, the adjacent manors of Bickleigh and Sampford, now Sampford Spiney. The added name, in this latter case, is said to have been derived from its possession by the family of Spinet or De Spineto ; but as the neighbouring parish of Shaugh takes its title from the Saxon sceacga, 'rough coppice,' it is quite as probable that the Spiney here may be simply the allied word spinney." 4

The spellings Spynie and Spiny are fairly popular in Scotland where the name is derived from "Spynie in the parish of the same name in Moray. Henricus ae Spyny was vicar of Banff, 1323. William de Spyny who appears as canon of the church of Moray in 1363 may be the William de Spyny who was procurator for the abbot of Aberbrothoc in 1375. John de Spyny petitioned for a canonry and prebend of Neu and Ros ven in Ros, 1407. Sir William Spyne or Spynie, provost of Thane or Tayne (Tain) in 1509 was dead before 1545." 5 This later source presumes that Espyny recorded in 1394 is of the same family.

Early History of the Spinney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Spinney research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1130, 1363, 1371, 1372, 1373, 1388, 1397, 1402 and 1406 are included under the topic Early Spinney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spinney Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Spinney were recorded, including Spiney, Spinney, Spine, Spines and others.

Early Notables of the Spinney family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William de Spynie (died 1406), Scottish prelate, canon of Moray by 1363 and Precentor (Chanter) of Aberdeen in 1371, exchanged the latter position with William Boyl for the Precentorship of Moray (1372-1373), became Dean of Aberdeen by 1388, possibly became Dean of Dunkeld in 1397, elected to be the new Bishop...
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Spinney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spinney Ranking

In the United States, the name Spinney is the 12,317^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Spinney migration to the United States +

The unstable environment in England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like Ireland, Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Spinney arrived in North America very early:

Spinney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

C. Spinney who arrived in New York in 1823
J. Spinney, who arrived in San Francisco in 1850

Spinney migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Spinney Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Robert Spinney, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Amazon"

Contemporary Notables of the name Spinney (post 1700) +

Carroll Edwin Spinney (1933-2019), American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, best known for his role as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street from its inception in 1969 until 2018
Franklin C. "Chuck" Spinney (b. 1946), American former military analyst
Arthur F. Spinney (1927-1994), American professional football guard
John C. Spinney, American politician, Farmer-Labor Candidate for U.S. Representative from New Hampshire 2nd District, 1936 7
John Spinney, American politician, Candidate for New Hampshire State Senate 1st District, 1916 7
Elvington P. Spinney, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Maine 1st District, 1928; Delegate to Maine convention to ratify 21st amendment from York County, 1933 7
George Wilbur Spinney (1889-1948), Canadian president of The Bank of Montreal from 1942 to 1948
Edgar Spinney Archibald CC, CBE, FRSC (1885-1968), Canadian agricultural scientist

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html