Kinsall History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Kinsall is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Kinsall 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, Kinsall 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 Kinsall family

The surname Kinsall 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 Kinsall family

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

Kinsall Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Kingsley, Kingsleigh, Kingslee, Kinsey and others.

Early Notables of the Kinsall family

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

Migration of the Kinsall family

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Kinsall 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