Show ContentsJenkyns History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Jenkyns Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Jenkyns

What does the name Jenkyns mean?

The Jenkyns surname has long been associated with Wales. This surname comes from the personal names Jen, Jan, and Jon, which are all forms of the name John. The surname Jenkyns also features the diminutive suffix -kin, which is commonly held to have been brought to Britain from the Netherlands as early as the 12th century, when it is found as a component of the surnames of some Flemish settlers. Generally, the Jenkin variant of this name came from the Devon-Cornwall region.

Early Origins of the Jenkyns family

The surname Jenkyns was first found in "South Wales and Monmouthshire, where it is very numerous. Like other Welsh names it has spread itself to the southward and eastward, though not nearly to the extent of some of the other common names of the Principality."

"The usual explanation that Jenkins is a name of Flemish type, probably introduced by the Flemings who settled in numbers in South Wales in the reign of Henry I., is to some extent supported by the fact that the great home of the name is now in South Wales and Monmouthshire. It is singular, however, that the name, usually as Jenkin, should be numerous in Cornwall. Cornwall is very Welsh with reference to some of its most frequent names, such as Roberts, Phillips, Williams, Richards, Thomas, Jenkin, Harris, James, &c., which, in the intervening counties of Devon and Somerset are usually much less numerous. This close resemblance in family nomenclature between two isolated regions that possess a similar racial history is very remarkable." 1

Early History of the Jenkyns family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jenkyns research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1460, 1582, 1597, 1600, 1602, 1609, 1622, 1623, 1625, 1641, 1663, 1685, 1722, 1798 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Jenkyns History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jenkyns Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Jenkyns have included Jenkins, Jenkin, Jankins, Jenkynn, Jenkynns, Jenkyns, Jinkines, Jinkins, Jenkens, Junkin, Junkins and many more.

Early Notables of the Jenkyns family

David Jenkins (1582-1663), Welsh judge and Royalist, "the son of Jenkin Richard of Hensol, in the parish of Pendeulwyn, Glamorganshire, where he was born in 1582. He became a commoner of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, in 1597, and took the degree of B.A. 4 July 1600. He was admitted on 5 Nov. 1602 a...
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Jenkyns Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Jenkyns family to Ireland

Some of the Jenkyns family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jenkyns migration to the United States +

During the latter half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the people of Wales journeyed to North America to find a new life. They made major contributions to the arts, industry and commerce of both Canada and the United States, and added a rich cultural heritage to their newly adopted societies. A look at the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Jenkyns:

Jenkyns Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Walter Jenkyns, who settled in Virginia in 1635
  • Walter Jenkyns, aged 30, who landed in Virginia in 1635 2
  • Mr. Walter Jenkyns, (b. 1605), aged 30, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Constance" arriving in Virginia in 1635 3

Jenkyns migration to Australia +

Jenkyns Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Richard Jenkyns, who arrived in Holdfast Bay, Australia aboard the ship "Katherine Stewart Forbes" in 1837 4
  • Elizabeth Jenkyns, who arrived in Holdfast Bay, Australia aboard the ship "Katherine Stewart Forbes" in 1837 4
  1. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  2. 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)
  3. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved October 5th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  4. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) KATHERINE STEWART FORBES 1837 arrived Holdfast Bay, near Adelaide, on October 17, 1837. . Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1837KatherineStewartForbes.htm

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