Beneville History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Beneville family

The surname Beneville was first found in Herefordshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Buckley.

Early History of the Beneville family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beneville research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1545 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Beneville History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beneville Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Beneville, Benevile, Beanville, Benville, Beamville, Beamvile, Beamvill, Benevill, Benivill and many more.

Early Notables of the Beneville family

the Beneville family of Buckley

Beneville migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Beneville or a variant listed above:

Beneville Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Regis J. Beneville, aged 43, who landed in America from Freeport, Long Island, in 1924

Contemporary Notables of the name Beneville (post 1700) +

Beneville Sawyer, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for U.S. Representative from Indiana 12th District, 1910 2

Sources +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html