Pinckney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Pinckney

What does the name Pinckney mean?

The name Pinckney was brought to England in the wave of migration that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Pinckney family lived in "Pinkeny, Pinkenay, or Pinquigny, now Picuigny, a town in Picardy, in the neighbourhood of Amiens, that in later times was erected into a Duchy for the honour of Chaulnes. A castle that had existed there as early as the eighth century became the head of a barony that gave its name to one of the greatest houses in the North of France, maternally derived from Charlemagne (Bouquet, Ord. Vit.). Many of the nobles of Picardy followed the Conqueror, and among them were several of the De Picquignys. William Fitz Ansculph is one of the great landowners of Domesday, holding eleven baronies in different counties, comprising one hundred manors ; many of them inherited from his father Ansculph, Viscount of Surrey, who had died before 1086 : and from two other passages in the same record, it is ascertained that their name was ' Pinchingi.' " 1

Another source claims the family is from Picquigny, in Somme, Normandy. 2

Early Origins of the Pinckney family

The surname Pinckney was first found in Northampton where the family claim descent from Gilo de Pincheni, who lived in the reign of Henry I. He was granted by the monks of St. Lucien in France lands at Wedon. 3

Wulfhere, the first Christian king of Mercia, had a palace here, which, after his death, was converted by his daughter Werburgh into a nunnery, of which she became abbess, and which was destroyed by the Danes in the ninth century. 4

Ansculfus de Pinchengi was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as holding lands in Berkshire. 5

"' Gilo frater Ansculfi,' is also entered in Domesday as holding in capite in four counties ; in Northamptonshire his barony of Wedon was called from him Wedon-Pinkney, and in the time of his grandson Gilbert was certified to consist of fourteen and a half knights' fees. He founded a cell to the French monastery of St. Lucien at his caput honoris of Wedon. His descendant Robert de Pinkeney incurred forfeiture by taking part in the rebellion against King John, who bestowed his barony on Waleran Tyes ; but, like most of the other malcontents, was restored to favour and fortune on the accession of Henry III. Henry de Pinkeney and his son Robert were both engaged in the Welsh wars ; the former had a writ of military summons to serve against Llewellyn in 1264 ; and the latter, " being in the King's service in Wales 10 Edward I., had scutage of all his tenants by military service in the counties of Northampton, Bucks, Bedford, Essex, Hens, Warwick, Oxford, Berks, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Somerset :"-implying a wide range of possessions. He afterwards followed the King on his expedition to Gascony. We next come upon a blot on the family 'Sir John de Pinkeney was hanged in 1292 for certain thefts and depredations, and his lands seized by the King, and delivered to Sir Robert de Pinkeney, against whom Hugh de Odingsells claimed them, together with half the manor of Long Itchingham in Warwickshire, by gift of Sir John. This Sir Robert has been generally considered the son of Sir John, but there is abundant evidence to prove that he was Sir Robert Pinkeney of Wedon, the Lord of the Fee.' " 1

Early History of the Pinckney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pinckney research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1303, 1599 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Pinckney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pinckney 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 Pinkney, Pinckney, Pinkley, Pinkly, Pinkie and others.

Early Notables of the Pinckney family

Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pinckney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pinckney Ranking

In the United States, the name Pinckney is the 4,415^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 6

Pinckney 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 Pinckney or a variant listed above:

Pinckney Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jacob Pinckney, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 7

Pinckney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John F Pinckney, who arrived in Texas in 1835 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Pinckney (post 1700) +

Edward Lewis Pinckney (b. 1963), retired American basketball player; he played from 1985 to 1997 and has coached from 2003
Darryl Pinckney (b. 1953), American novelist, playwright, and essayist
Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722-1793), South Carolina planter who developed indigo as one of its most important cash crops, manager of three plantations
Clementa Carlos "Clem" Pinckney (1973-2015), American politician, Member of the South Carolina Senate (2001-2015) and pastor; he and eight other were murdered in a mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a service June 17, 2015
Charles Cotesworth “C. C.” Pinckney (1746-1825), American statesman of South Carolina, Revolutionary War veteran, and delegate to the Constitutional Convention
Josephine Lyons Scott Pinckney (1895-1957), American novelist and poet
Joseph Pinckney, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County 11th District, 1951-52 8
John McPherson Pinckney (1845-1905), American Democratic Party politician, State Court Judge in Texas, 1900-03; U.S. Representative from Texas 8th District, 1903-05 8
J. C. Pinckney, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1896 8
Henry Laurens Pinckney (1794-1863), American Democratic Party politician, Member of South Carolina State House of Representatives, 1832; Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, 1837-40; U.S. Collector of Customs, 1841-42 8
... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"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, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html