Show ContentsKederminster History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The roots of the Anglo-Saxon name Kederminster come from when the family resided in Kidderminster, a village in Worcestershire. The place-name was recorded as Chideminstre in the Domesday Book, 1 which was compiled in 1086, and as Kedeleministere in 1154. The place-name is derived from the Old English personal name Cydela, and the Old English word mynster, which meant monastery. The place-name as a whole means "monastery of a man called Cydela." The surname means "one who came from Kidderminster." 2

Early Origins of the Kederminster family

The surname Kederminster was first found in Worcestershire at Kidderminster. "At the time of the Conquest this was a royal manor, and it continued so until the reign of Henry II., when it passed into the hands of various possessors, of whom Waller, the poet, was subsequently one." 3

Early History of the Kederminster family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kederminster research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1230, 1487, 1498, 1500, 1512, 1524, 1531, 1594, 1597, 1693 and 1744 are included under the topic Early Kederminster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kederminster Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Kederminster has been recorded under many different variations, including Kittermaster, Kidderminster, Kiddermaster, Kiddiminstre, Keedomister, Kederminster, Kidiministre, Kidiminstre, Kytermyster and many more.

Early Notables of the Kederminster family

Distinguished members of the family include Richard Kedermyster or Kyderminstre (d. 1531?), Abbot of Winchcomb, Gloucestershire, probably a native of Worcestershire. "At the age of fifteen he was admitted into the Benedictine monastery of Winchcomb; four years later he was sent to Gloucester College, Oxford, where the monastery owned an apartment called Winchcomb Lodgings; after remaining there for three years and a half he was summoned home, and by the interest of his patron, John Twynning, the abbot of Winchcomb, was made ‘scholar or pastor’ of the monastery. On Twynning's death in 1487, he was elected lord...
Another 96 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kederminster Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kederminster family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Kederminster or a variant listed above: Hugh Kiddermaster, who arrived in Virginia in 1628; Anthony Kittermaster, who was on record in Ontario in 1871; and Albert Kittermaster, also on record in Ontario in 1871..



  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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