The name Cornabey belongs to the early history of Britain, it's origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of their having lived 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]
The surname Cornabey 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]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cornabey research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1552, 1669, 1677, 1407, 1404, 1541, 1595, 1645, 1624, 1628, 1629, 1640, 1640 and 1642 are included under the topic Early Cornabey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Cornabey include Carnaby, Carnabey and others.
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...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cornabey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Cornabey were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Elizabeth Carnaby who settled in Virginia in 1741.