Early Origins of the Thainy family
The surname Thainy was first found in
Essex 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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) 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 Stapleford Abbots at St.Edmunds Abbey who was recorded by the
Baron Robert Gernon and Nigel in the
Domesday Book census of 1086.
Early History of the Thainy family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thainy research.
Another 137 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Thainy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thainy Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Thany, Than, Thaney, Thainy, Thaine, Thayne and others.
Early Notables of the Thainy family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Thainy Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Thainy family to the New World and Oceana
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Martin Thaney who settled in Ohio in 1867. Antoine Than went to America in 1847 when he was 18.