Kernbay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Kernbay is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the region of Carnaby a parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Literally the place name means 'cairn-settlement' from the Celtic carn, cairn + Scandinavian by, meaning 'settlement, village.' 1

Early Origins of the Kernbay family

The surname Kernbay was first found in Carnaby, a parish, in the "union of Bridlington, wapentake of Dickerin in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The church is a small edifice, with an embattled tower." 2

The first records for the family are found here in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379: Rogerus de Carnaby, brasiator; and Johannes Carnaby. 3

Later records of the family were found further to the north in Caithness, Scotland, specifically with the spelling Carnabay, but that sources notes the family was "from Carnaby in the East Riding of Yorkshire." 4

Early History of the Kernbay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kernbay research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1404, 1407, 1541, 1552, 1595, 1624, 1628, 1629, 1640, 1642, 1645, 1669, 1677, 1772, 1805, 1808, 1823 and 1839 are included under the topic Early Kernbay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kernbay 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 Kernbay family name include Carnaby, Carnabey and others.

Early Notables of the Kernbay family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir William Carnaby (died 1407), English politician, Member of Parliament for Northumberland in 1404; Leonard Cornaby, High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1541; and William Carnaby (1595-1645), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Morpeth in 1624; for Northumberland (1628-1629), for Marlborough in 1640, and for Morpeth (1640-1642.)William Carnaby, born in London in 1772, was a chorister of the Chapel-Royal under Dr. Nares and Dr. Ayrton. On leaving the choir he...
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kernbay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kernbay family

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 Kernbay surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Elizabeth Carnaby who settled in Virginia in 1741.

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)