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Kingsay is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Kingsay family lived in one of the places called Kingsley in Cheshire or Staffordshire having derived from the Old English word cyningesleah, which means wood or clearing of the king. 1 Thus, Kingsay is a classic example of an English polygenetic surname, which is a surname that was developed in a number of different locations and adopted by various families independently.
The surname Kingsay was first found in Cheshire where a "township and estate, the property of Sir Ranulph de Kingsley before 1128 was found. In the XVIII century the family divided into two branches, the younger continuing the name of Kingsley, the elder adopting that of De Aula or Hale." 2 Another early listing of the name was Adam de Kyngeslegh who was listed in East Cheshire. 3 Kingsley is a township, civil parish and a village in the parish of Frodsham, union of Runcorn. 4 It was first listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Chingeslie. 5
One of the first records of the family was Kynsige, Kinsius, Kinsi or Cynesige (d. 1060), Archbishop of York "who, it is said, was brought into the world by a Caesarean operation." 6
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kingsay research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kingsay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Kingsley, Kingsleigh, Kingslee, Kinsey and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Kingsay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Kingsay or a variant listed above: Steven Kingsley, who settled in Salem Massachusetts in 1630; William Kingsley settled in Virginia in 1623; David Kinsey settled with his wife in Pennsylvania in 1682.