Kingesley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Kingesley was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The ancestors of the Kingesley family lived in one of the places called Kingsley in Cheshire or Staffordshire having derived from the Old English word cyningesleah, which means wood or clearing of the king. 1 Thus, Kingesley is a classic example of an English polygenetic surname, which is a surname that was developed in a number of different locations and adopted by various families independently.

Early Origins of the Kingesley family

The surname Kingesley was first found in Cheshire where a "township and estate, the property of Sir Ranulph de Kingsley before 1128 was found. In the XVIII century the family divided into two branches, the younger continuing the name of Kingsley, the elder adopting that of De Aula or Hale." 2 Another early listing of the name was Adam de Kyngeslegh who was listed in East Cheshire. 3 Kingsley is a township, civil parish and a village in the parish of Frodsham, union of Runcorn. 4 It was first listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Chingeslie. 5

One of the first records of the family was Kynsige, Kinsius, Kinsi or Cynesige (d. 1060), Archbishop of York "who, it is said, was brought into the world by a Caesarean operation." 6

Early History of the Kingesley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kingesley research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kingesley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kingesley Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Kingesley are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Kingesley include Kingsley, Kingsleigh, Kingslee, Kinsey and others.

Early Notables of the Kingesley family

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

Migration of the Kingesley family

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Kingesley, or a variant listed above: Steven Kingsley, who settled in Salem Massachusetts in 1630; William Kingsley settled in Virginia in 1623; David Kinsey settled with his wife in Pennsylvania in 1682.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lee, Sir Stanley, Dictionary of National Biography. London: The MacMillan Company 1909. Print