Cockynay History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe origins of the Cockynay surname date from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name originated with an early member who was a swift runner or a timid person. The surname Cockynay 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 Cockynay familyThe surname Cockynay 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 Cockynay familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cockynay 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 Cockynay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Cockynay Spelling VariationsThe English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore, spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Cockynay has been recorded under many different variations, including Coney, Coyney, Coyny, Cony, Conney, Conye, Coyney, Cony, Conny, Connay and many more. Early Notables of the Cockynay familyNotables 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." 6John 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... Migration of the Cockynay family to IrelandSome of the Cockynay 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. Migration of the Cockynay familyFor many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Cockynay or a variant listed above: John Connay arrived in Philadelphia in 1865; Edmund Conney arrived in Barbados in 1680; John Conney settled in Boston in 1763; Richard Coney settled in New England in 1665.
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