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Spinner History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Spinner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 added many new elements to an already vibrant culture. Among these were thousands of new names. The Spinner family lived in Warwickshire. Their name, however, is a reference to Epineville, Normandy, 1

However, another source has a very different understanding of the origin of this name, claiming the name means: "a thicket; a small plantation. Evidently the same as the Latin spinetum, a bushy place, or patch of thorns. The name is probably another form of Thorne, anciently Latinized 'De Spineto.' In Buckinghamshire, however, spinney means a brook." 2

Early Origins of the Spinner family

The surname Spinner was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. The Spineys were originally of Spine Villa or Epineville of Scine in Inf in the arrondisement of Yvetot, and held lands in Feltwell in Norfolk and Cloughton in Warwickshire.

Other early records of the family in England include: Robert de la Spinei who was listed in Cheshire in 1198, John atte Spyneye in the Subsidy Rolls for Leicestershire in 1327 and John Spynneye in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1377. 3

Moving to the far south to Devon, we did find this interesting interpretation of the name: "Brismar had also held, and William [the Conqueror)] had succeeded to, the adjacent manors of Bickleigh and Sampford, now Sampford Spiney. The added name, in this latter case, is said to have been derived from its possession by the family of Spinet or De Spineto ; but as the neighbouring parish of Shaugh takes its title from the Saxon sceacga, 'rough coppice,' it is quite as probable that the Spiney here may be simply the allied word spinney." 4

The spellings Spynie and Spiny are fairly popular in Scotland where the name is derived from "Spynie in the parish of the same name in Moray. Henricus ae Spyny was vicar of Banff, 1323. William de Spyny who appears as canon of the church of Moray in 1363 may be the William de Spyny who was procurator for the abbot of Aberbrothoc in 1375. John de Spyny petitioned for a canonry and prebend of Neu and Ros ven in Ros, 1407. Sir William Spyne or Spynie, provost of Thane or Tayne (Tain) in 1509 was dead before 1545." 5 This later source presumes that Espyny recorded in 1394 is of the same family.

Early History of the Spinner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Spinner research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1130, 1363, 1371, 1372, 1373, 1388, 1397, 1402 and 1406 are included under the topic Early Spinner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spinner Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Spiney, Spinney, Spine, Spines and others.

Early Notables of the Spinner family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William de Spynie (died 1406), Scottish prelate, canon of Moray by 1363 and Precentor (Chanter) of Aberdeen in 1371, exchanged the latter position with William Boyl for the Precentorship of Moray (1372-1373), became Dean of Aberdeen by 1388, possibly became Dean of Dunkeld in 1397, elected to be the new Bishop...
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Spinner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Spinner Ranking

In the United States, the name Spinner is the 7,939^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Spinner migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Spinner or a variant listed above:

Spinner Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Spinner, who arrived in Maryland in 1661 7

Spinner Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Ulrick Spinner, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1761 7

Spinner Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Lornez Spinner, aged 18, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1802 7
W Spinner, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 7

Spinner migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Spinner Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Robert Spinner, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Robert Spinner, aged 22, a baker, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840

Contemporary Notables of the name Spinner (post 1700) +

Bryson Spinner (b. 1980), American former NFL football quarterback who played from 2004 to 2010
Tony Spinner (b. 1963), American rock and blues singer and guitarist, bets known for his work with Toto
Jackie Spinner, American journalist who worked for The Washington Post from 1995 to 2009
Frank C. Spinner, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 15th District, 1968, 1970 8
Francis Elias Spinner (1802-1890), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from New York 17th District, 1855-61 8
Elmer Spinner, American politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Onondaga County 1st District, 1956 8
Leopold Spinner (1906-1980), Ukrainian-born, British composer and editor

Historic Events for the Spinner family +

HMS Hood

Mr. George D Spinner (b. 1919), English Stoker 1st Class serving for the Royal Navy from Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 9

RMS Titanic

Mr. Henry John Spinner (d. 1912), aged 32, English Third Class passenger from Arboretum, Worcestershire who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 10

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html