Keigwynne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

Family Crest Image (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

The countryside of Wales was the birthplace of the name Keigwynne. Keigwynne originally started out as a name for a person who was nicknamed "white dog" from the Old English word "Kei" - a dog, and "gwyn" - white: and thus figuratively, a hero. Nicknames form a broad category surnames, and were frequently the result of a spontaneous reaction to a particular occasion or event; thus their meanings were significant to the original bearers and their contemporaries, but baffle modern scholars who lack knowledge of the original context of the nickname.

Early Origins of the Keigwynne family

The surname Keigwynne was first found in Cardiganshire (Welsh: Sir Aberteifi), the former Kingdom of Ceredigion, created as a county in 1282 by Edward I, and located on the West coast of Wales, where they held a family seat. The name rose to prominence when they moved to Cornwall and settled at Mousehole where the first on official record was Carne Keigwin of Mousehole about 1380. "An ancient Cornish family. Mr Dixon derives the surname from Welsh and Cornish roots signifying White Dog, and the three greyhounds argent in the arms seem to allude to this derivation." ^[1]

Important Dates for the Keigwynne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keigwynne research. Another 182 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1410, 1432, 1595, 1658, 1646, 1641, 1716, 1682 and 1700 are included under the topic Early Keigwynne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keigwynne Spelling Variations

Although there are not an extremely large number Welsh surnames, there are an inordinately large number of spelling variations of those surnames. This variety of spellings began almost immediately after the acceptance of surnames within Welsh society. As time progressed, these old Brythonic names were eventually were recorded in English. This process was problematic in that many of the highly inflected sounds of the native language of Wales could not be properly captured in English. Some families, however, did decide to modify their own names to indicate a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even a patriotic affiliation. The name Keigwynne has seen various spelling variations: Keigwin, Keegwin, Keggwin, Keggin, Keigwine, Keigwyn, Kedgwynn and many more.

Early Notables of the Keigwynne family (pre 1700)

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was John Keigwin (1641-1716) Cornish antiquary, born at Mousehole, notable for 'Mount Calvary' in Cornish, and his translations of...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Keigwynne Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Keigwynne family

In the 1800s and 1900s, many Welsh families left for North America, in search of land, work, and freedom. Those who made the trip successfully helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and the cultural heritage of both Canada and the United States. In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Keigwynne Richard Keigwin who landed in North America in 1699.