Show ContentsCaney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Caney is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It was a name for someone who was a swift runner or a timid person. The surname Caney is derived from the Old English words conig and cony, which mean rabbit. [1] "The fact that Thomas Cony (1323, Freeman of York) was a pelter suggests that the surname may also have denoted a dealer in rabbit-skins, perhaps also a furrier." [2]

Early Origins of the Caney family

The surname Caney was first found in many counties throughout ancient Britain. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Richard Conni, Salop (Shropshire) and John Conay, Huntingdonshire. [1]

"Sire Hubert and Sire William de Coni held lands from Philip Augustus c. 1204. Robert Coignee occurs in Gloucester 1230." [3]

Richard le Cony was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296 and later the same rolls included Robert Cony who held lands in Cambridgeshire in 1327. [2]

One of the strongholds of the family was found in Lincolnshire where "in the 16th century Richard and Thomas Coney, father and son, who were Merchants of the Staple of Calais, owned the manor - house, Basingthorpe; the same Thomas Coney, who accumulated a great fortune and was High Sheriff of Rutland in 1573. He gave £100 towards the national fund collected for the defence of the country at the time of the expected invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588." [4]

From these early entries the name expanded to places like Coney Arm, Newfoundland [5] and Coney's Castle, an Iron Age hill fort in Dorset, England.

Early History of the Caney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Caney research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1585, 1592, 1595, 1630, 1645, 1646, 1676, 1679, 1682, 1685, 1713, 1786, 1794, 1806, 1815 and 1833 are included under the topic Early Caney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Caney Spelling Variations

Caney has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Many variations of the name Caney have been found, including Coney, Coyney, Coyny, Cony, Conney, Conye, Coyney, Cony, Conny, Connay and many more.

Early Notables of the Caney family

Notables of the family at this time include Robert Conny (also Cony) (1646?-1713), an English physician. He was the "son of John Conny, surgeon, and twice mayor of Rochester, born in or about 1645. He was a member of Magdalen College, Oxford, and proceeded B.A. on 8 June 1676, M.A. 3 May 1679, M.B. 2 May 1682, and M.D. 9 July 1685." [6]John Coney (1786-1833), was an English draughtsman and engraver, born in Ratcliff Highway, London. He was apprenticed to an architect, but never followed the profession. Among his early studies were pencil...
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Caney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Caney family to Ireland

Some of the Caney family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Caney migration to the United States +

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Caneys to arrive on North American shores:

Caney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • M Caney, aged 24, who landed in America in 1822 [7]

Contemporary Notables of the name Caney (post 1700) +

  • Trisha Caney, American first assistant accountant, known for her work on Run, Fatboy, Run (2007), Crush (2001) and Suzie Gold (2004)
  • Arron Caney, American video game coordinator, known for his work on Valkyria Chronicles (2008), Space Channel 5: Part 2 (2002) and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (2012)
  • Ashton W. Caney, American politician, Mayor of Batavia, New York, 1920 [8]
  • Rey Caney (1926-2016), born Reinaldo Hierrezuelo la O, Cuban singer, guitarist and tresero
  • Simon Caney, British Professor of Political Theory and Fellow and Tutor of Magdalen College, Oxford


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. 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)
  4. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  5. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland Montreal: McGill's-Queen's University Press 1998. Print. (ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
  6. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  7. 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)
  8. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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