Show ContentsKitermaster History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Kitermaster is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family lived in Kidderminster, a village in Worcestershire. The place-name was recorded as Chideminstre in the Domesday Book, 1 which was compiled in 1086, and as Kedeleministere in 1154. The place-name is derived from the Old English personal name Cydela, and the Old English word mynster, which meant monastery. The place-name as a whole means "monastery of a man called Cydela." The surname means "one who came from Kidderminster." 2

Early Origins of the Kitermaster family

The surname Kitermaster was first found in Worcestershire at Kidderminster. "At the time of the Conquest this was a royal manor, and it continued so until the reign of Henry II., when it passed into the hands of various possessors, of whom Waller, the poet, was subsequently one." 3

Early History of the Kitermaster family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kitermaster research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1230, 1487, 1498, 1500, 1512, 1524, 1531, 1594, 1597, 1693 and 1744 are included under the topic Early Kitermaster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kitermaster Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Kitermaster has been spelled many different ways, including Kittermaster, Kidderminster, Kiddermaster, Kiddiminstre, Keedomister, Kederminster, Kidiministre, Kidiminstre, Kytermyster and many more.

Early Notables of the Kitermaster family

Distinguished members of the family include Richard Kedermyster or Kyderminstre (d. 1531?), Abbot of Winchcomb, Gloucestershire, probably a native of Worcestershire. "At the age of fifteen he was admitted into the Benedictine monastery of Winchcomb; four years later he was sent to Gloucester College, Oxford, where the monastery owned an apartment called Winchcomb Lodgings; after remaining there for three years and a half he was summoned home, and by the interest of his patron, John Twynning, the abbot of Winchcomb, was made ‘scholar or pastor’ of the monastery. On Twynning's death in 1487, he was elected lord...
Another 96 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kitermaster Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kitermaster family

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Kitermasters to arrive in North America: Hugh Kiddermaster, who arrived in Virginia in 1628; Anthony Kittermaster, who was on record in Ontario in 1871; and Albert Kittermaster, also on record in Ontario in 1871..



  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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