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Show ContentsCarnaby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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The ancient history of the Carnaby name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided in the region of Carnaby a parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Literally the place name means 'cairn-settlement' from the Celtic carn, cairn + Scandinavian by, meaning 'settlement, village.' 1

Early Origins of the Carnaby family

The surname Carnaby was first found in Carnaby, a parish, in the "union of Bridlington, wapentake of Dickerin in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The church is a small edifice, with an embattled tower." 2

The first records for the family are found here in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379: Rogerus de Carnaby, brasiator; and Johannes Carnaby. 3

Later records of the family were found further to the north in Caithness, Scotland, specifically with the spelling Carnabay, but that sources notes the family was "from Carnaby in the East Riding of Yorkshire." 4

Early History of the Carnaby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Carnaby research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1404, 1407, 1541, 1552, 1595, 1624, 1628, 1629, 1640, 1642, 1645, 1669, 1677, 1772, 1805, 1808, 1823 and 1839 are included under the topic Early Carnaby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carnaby Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Carnaby include Carnaby, Carnabey and others.

Early Notables of the Carnaby family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • Sir William Carnaby (died 1407), English politician, Member of Parliament for Northumberland in 1404; Leonard Cornaby, High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1541; and William Carnaby (1595-1645), an Engli...
  • William Carnaby, born in London in 1772, was a chorister of the Chapel-Royal under Dr. Nares and Dr. Ayrton. On leaving the choir he became organist at Eye, which he quitted for a similar appointment...

United States Carnaby migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Carnaby or a variant listed above:

Carnaby Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Sarah Carnaby, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 5
  • Elizabeth Carnaby who settled in Virginia in 1741

Contemporary Notables of the name Carnaby (post 1700) +

  • William Carnaby (1772-1839), English musical composer, born in London in 1772 and educated in the Chapel Royal as a chorister under Dr. Nares and Dr. Ayrton 6
  • Thomas Easton "Tom" Carnaby (1913-1971), English professional footballer who played from 1933 to 1947
  • Ivan Clarence Carnaby (1908-1974), Australian farmer, naturalist and ornithologist
  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. 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)
  5. 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)
  6. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 31 Oct. 2019
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