Kinniburgh Help
I've been searching for this surname for a while and finally found the variant Kinnebrew on ancestry's last name origin site, which describes it as: "Americanized form of Scottish Kinniburgh, from the female personal name Kynborough, a survival of Old English female personal name Cyneburh. Compare English Kimbrough".
I'm far from being an expert but it seems very strange to me that a Scottish surname should be derived from an Old English, and female, name. If this was true I though that it would ultimately be derived from a place name as apparently Kimberley in Norfolk is of the 'Cyneburh' derivation, but I can't find Kinniburgh, or anything near, as a place name.An expert opinion on whether you think this is correct would be appreciated!
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I’m a Kinnibrugh, born and raised in Tx. Some of that side of the family were and still are farmers in Texas. They originally were farmers in Arkansas. I have traced many relatives back to a cemetery in Arkansas, I believe it’s in Washington county. The name is Kinnibrugh Cemetary. There are also many Kinnibrughs buried in the Vera, Tx cemetary. My mom has a binder with all the ancestry she has traced for her side of the family as well as the Kinnibrughs.
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That's just it I always thought I was Scottish and my ancestors mingled with Vikings but my understanding now is that it comes from England from Cornwall England from the name Kimber and it is also considered a very ancient name meaning we go back a long long time
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It is a Scottish surname but my information is that it derives from an English place name, Conisborough in Yorkshire.It's an old surname in Scotland; first on record, Galfridus (Geoffrey) de Coningesburg in 1164. Cuniburgh is a 17th century spelling. Black ("Surnames of Scotland", 1946) writes: "Over 250 different spellings of the name have been noted from official sources by Mr. T.C. Kinniburgh, of Folkestone, Kent, who is compiling a history of his family." So little wonder that even the ancestry website has backed the wrong horse.
The place name Conisborough means "king's borough", i.e., a fortified settlement on land belonging to the king.
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now that makes much more sense! I need to invest in some better surname books I think, it's no use relying on other internet sites. cheers

This message was edited 5/8/2007, 2:52 PM

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