Hundslay is a name of ancient
Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the settlements of High Hunsley and Low Hunsley in the East Riding of
Yorkshire.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6) The surname Hundslay belongs to the large category of
Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
Early Origins of the Hundslay family
The surname Hundslay was first found in
Yorkshire, at High Hunsley, a small hamlet in the East Riding of
Yorkshire. The village dates back to the
Domesday Book [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) where it was recorded as Hund(r)eslege and meant "woodland clearing of a man called Hund"
[3]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) "This place appears to have been anciently of more importance than it is at present, many foundations of buildings having been dug up at various times. Upon a hill here, was a beacon that gave name to the largest division of the wapentake."
[4]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Early History of the Hundslay family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hundslay research.
Another 112 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hundslay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Hundslay Spelling Variations
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore,
spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hundslay family name include Hunsley, Hunsly, Hunley, Hunly, Hundsley, Hundsly and others.
Early Notables of the Hundslay family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Hundslay Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Hundslay family to Ireland
Some of the Hundslay family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Hundslay family to the New World and Oceana
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for
Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Hundslay surname or a spelling variation of the name include: William Hunsley, who sailed to America in 1753.