Coney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

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. [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 Coney family

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." [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 Coney family

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

Coney Spelling Variations

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.

Early Notables of the Coney family (pre 1700)

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 Coney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coney Ranking

In the United States, the name Coney is the 5,413^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [7]

Migration of the Coney family to Ireland

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.

Coney migration to the United States +

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:

Coney Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Coney, who landed in Maryland in 1655 [8]
Era Coney, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 [8]
John Coney, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1662 [8]
Richard Coney, who settled in New England in 1665
Francis Coney, who landed in Maryland in 1667 [8]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Coney Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Peter Coney, who landed in Virginia in 1702 [8]

Coney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Coney, aged 29, who arrived in New York in 1812 [8]
S Coney, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 [8]
A Coney, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 [8]
N Coney, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 [8]
N, Coney Jr., who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 [8]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Coney (post 1700) +

Jeremy Vernon Coney MBE (b. 1952), former New Zealand cricketer, who played 52 Test matches
Sandra Lorraine Coney QSO (b. 1944), New Zealand feminist and women's health campaigner
Michael G Coney (1932-2005), British science fiction writer, nominee for the Nebula Award in 1995 for his novelette, "Tea and Hamsters"
John Coney Moulton OBE (1886-1926), British military officer, entomologist and museum director

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland Montreal: McGill's-Queen's University Press 1998. Print. (ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)