Quenby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Quenby family

The surname Quenby was first found in Leicestershire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Quenby, held by Richard from Robert de Tosny or Tonei, the chief tenant, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Quenby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Quenby research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1934 is included under the topic Early Quenby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Quenby Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Quenby, Quinby, Quimby, Quemby, Quynby, Querenby, Quarmby, QuesenBerry, Quisenberry, Quisnby, Quesnby, Quymby and many more.

Early Notables of the Quenby family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

the Quenby family of Leicestershire

Quenby migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Quenby name or one of its variants:

Quenby Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William M. Quenby, who arrived in Detroit in 1844

Contemporary Notables of the name Quenby (post 1700) +

Clayton J. Quenby, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for supervisor of Delhi Township, Michigan, 1961 2
John Quenby (1941-2023), British motorsport administrator, Chief Executive of the RAC Motor Sports Association (1990–2001)

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html