Kennington History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Kennington

What does the name Kennington mean?

The ancient roots of the Kennington family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Kennington comes from when the family lived in one of the places called Kennington in Berkshire, Kent, or Surrey. The surname Kennington 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 Kennington family

The surname Kennington was first found in Kent, Berkshire and Surrey, where they held a family seat before the Norman Conquest. The district of Kennington in Surrey is by far the oldest places on record. "The name is said to be of Saxon origin, there having been a royal palace here prior to the Conquest, whence the appellation Cynington, from the Saxon Cyning, a king. Kennington is distinguished in history as the scene of the banquet, or marriage festival of a Danish nobleman, at which Hardicanute, the son of Canute the Great, became the victim of his own intemperance, or, according to some writers, was poisoned." 1

Early History of the Kennington family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kennington research. Another 153 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1222, 1273, 1369 and 1795 are included under the topic Early Kennington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kennington Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Kennington has appeared include Kennington, Kenington, Keninton, Kenyngeton and many more.

Early Notables of the Kennington family

More information is included under the topic Early Kennington Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kennington migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Kennington arrived in North America very early:

Kennington Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Kennington, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1777 2

Kennington migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Kennington Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Ann Kennington, (Sheridan), (b. 1789), aged 21, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life for assault, transported aboard the "Canada" in March 1810, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3
Miss Sarah Kennington, English convict who was convicted in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Diana" on 4th December 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4

Kennington migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Kennington Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Ann Elizabeth Kennington, (b. 1856), aged 9, English settler from Lincolnshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Tudor" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 24th September 1865 5
Mrs. Jane Kennington, (b. 1832), aged 33, English settler from Lincolnshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Tudor" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 24th September 1865 5
Mr. John Kennington, (b. 1831), aged 34, English mason from Lincolnshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Tudor" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 24th September 1865 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Kennington (post 1700) +

Dale Kennington (b. 1935), American contemporary artist from Savannah, Georgia
Thomas Benjamin Kennington (1856-1916), English genre, social realist and portrait painter, father of Eric Kennington
Eric Henri Kennington RA (1888-1960), English sculptor, artist and illustrator, an official war artist in World War I and II
D. J. Kennington (b. 1977), Canadian stock car racing driver, winner of the 2010 and 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
Gilbert Alan Kennington (1906-1986), prominent British educator and author of novels and plays

Historic Events for the Kennington family +

USS Arizona

Mr. Charles Cecil Kennington, American Seaman First Class from Tennessee, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 6
Mr. Milton Homer Kennington, American Seaman First Class from Tennessee, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 6

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Diana
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html