Project Surnames
Kingston, Kingstone
Project Background
The term Cyninges-tun means King’s manor. Several geographical locations in England were named after these royal settlements. The surname de Cyninges-tun (later Kingston) would subsequently have been adopted by some families from these locations, most likely after they had moved away. The Kingston surname has probably been adopted independently by unrelated families from different locations with this name. In "Blood of the Isles" Bryan Sykes writes that a strictly enforced feudal system was instigated all over England after the Norman conquest whereby estates insisted that surnames be adopted so that inheritence of land tenancies from father to son could be properly controlled, which resulted in practically everyone in England having a surname by the end of the thirteenth century.
Most, if not all, Kingston families originated in England. During the Munster and Cromwellian plantations of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the name began to appear in Ireland. This was predominantly in the West Cork area, where land was taken from the native Irish and given to English planters. The most significant Kingston settlements in Ireland historically have been in the West Cork villages of Timoleague and Drimoleague, thirty miles apart. “The Origins of Co. Cork Kingstons” by A. Richard Kingston, published in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Volume LXXXVI, 1981, offers the most in-depth published study of Co. Cork Kingstons. The author documents four generations of descent from a Colonel Samuel Kingston (died 1703) who lived in Timoleague and concludes that many, if not most, Irish Kingstons may descend from him. A definite link between the Kingstons of Timoleague and Drimoleague had not been made until the results of our ninth member became available.
The lack of surviving records makes linking to Colonel Samuel Kingston by traditional genealogical means impossible for most Kingstons of Irish descent. However, Y-chromosome analysis may offer the solution. Furthermore, comparison of results with Kingstons in England offers the best chance of discovering where in England these planters originated from. Y-chromosome analysis of Kingston families who never left England will provide an anchor for all other Kingstons, and hopefully enable us to build an understanding of the very earliest origins of the surname. Kingstons can now be found all over the world, and Y-chromosome analysis may hold many answers for these families.
Additional information about this project can be seen at our World Families Network Kingston DNA Project website.
Information and data obtained from the Kingston DNA Project must be attributed to the project, administrator, and Family Tree DNA as outlined in the Creative Commons License. Please notify administrator when using data for public or private research.
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