The name Coney is of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was name for a swift runner or a timid person. The surname Coney is derived from the Old English words conig and cony, which mean rabbit. However, Coney may have also been an occupational surname applied to a dealer in rabbit skins or a furrier.
The surname Coney 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." [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." [3]
From these early entries the name expanded to places like Coney Arm, Newfoundland and Coney's Castle, an Iron Age hill fort in Dorset, England.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coney research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1630, 1646, 1713, 1645, 1676, 1679, 1682 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Coney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Coney have been found, including Coney, Coyney, Coyny, Cony, Conney, Conye, Coyney, Cony, Conny, Connay and many more.
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, ana twice mayor of Rochester, was born in...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Coney is the 5,413rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [4]
Some of the Coney 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.
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Among the first immigrants of the name Coney, or a variant listed above to cross the Atlantic and come to North America were: