Show ContentsViñ History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Viñ Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Viñ

What does the name Viñ mean?

The name Viñ reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Viñ family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Viñ family lived in Gloucestershire. Their name refers to the original bearer would have lived near a vineyard.

Early Origins of the Viñ family

The surname Viñ was first found in Gloucestershire, but was a "name common to many places in the South of England. In Norman times, the culture of the vine was a considerable branch of industry, and many great houses, especially monasteries, had their vineyards. " 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only one listing for the family and that was found in Oxfordshire where Matilda la de la Vine was listed there at that time.

Early History of the Viñ family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Viñ research. Another 133 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1129, 1509, 1585, 1600, 1609, 1615, 1622, 1635, 1642, 1643, 1644, 1645, 1650, 1651 and 1655 are included under the topic Early Viñ History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Viñ 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 Vine, Vines, Vinn, Veyn, Vein and others.

Early Notables of the Viñ family

  • Richard Vines (1585-1651), English colonist, born near Bideford, Devonshire who emigrated to Maine, America in 1609, but later returned to England. He returned to New England, settling at Winter Harbo...
  • Another Richard Vines (1600-c. 1655), was an English Puritan divine, born at Blaston, Leicestershire, one of the Presbyterian leaders of the Westminster Assembly, became Master of Pembroke Hall, Cambr...

Viñ Ranking

In France, the name Viñ is the 9,488th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Viñ family to Ireland

Some of the Viñ family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Viñ 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 Viñ name or one of its variants:

Viñ Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • L Maria Vin, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Viñ (post 1700) +

  • Vin Diesel (b. 1967), stage name of Mark Sinclair, an American actor, writer, director and producer, best known for his roles as Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious film series and Richard B. Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick trilogy
  • Major-General Vin Vilhelm Svanström (1884-1964), Finnish Chief of Weapons Staff at General Headquarters (1942-1944) 4
  • Major-General Vin Henrik Palojärvi (1894-1955), Finnish General Officer Commanding Kymi Military District (1945) 5
  • Major-General Vin Felix Lindén (1889-1987), Finnish Chief Medical Officer, Helsinki Civil Guard (1941-1943) 6
  • Vin Denson (b. 1935), British former professional racing cyclist
  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. 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)
  4. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 5) Vin Svanström. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Svanstr%C3%B6m/V%C3%A4in%C3%B6_Vilhelm/Finland.html
  5. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 5) Vin Palojärvi. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Paloj%C3%A4rvi/V%C3%A4in%C3%B6_Henrik/Finland.html
  6. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 5) Vin Lindén. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Lind%C3%A9n/V%C3%A4in%C3%B6_Felix/Finland.html

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