Kitney Surname
There are various suggestions as to the derivation of the name Kitney, the first example seems the most likely as most of the Kitneys lived in Kent. However I have included two other suggested variations, you can make up your own mind as to the correct one
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Kitney Surname - Variation 1
The surname Kitney is an English locational name but of uncertain origin. Most sources suggest that it must be a derivative of Gedney a Lincolnshire community or even that it derives from an English translation of the Irish Gaelic Dlubhan "Kidney".However virtually every instance of the name in past centuries was in a localised area of Kent in the abutting parishes of Stockbury, Rainham and Detling. The parish of Rainham contains several marsh islands including one named Chitney. A hardening of the initial consonant would yield Kitney, and it is most probable that this place which derives from the Old English Ceattan-eg "Ceatta’s Island" is the origin of the name Kitney, which would then mean "Dweller on Chitney".
In many families the name softened to Kidney and the two forms became interchangeable. It was one David Kidney, a merchant in London who was granted a coat of in 1765 which may be described heraldically as "Azure, on a chevron Or between in chief two lambs and in a base a ram Argent three lambs kidneys Gules".
Kitney Surname - Variation 2
This unusual and interesting surname is of Irish origin and is a dialectal variant of the name Kidney, an Anglicised form of the Gaelic O Dubhain, the prefix "O" meaning descendant of, plus "Dubbin", normally a byname from a diminutive of "dubb" meaning black, but in this instance as a result of association with the homonymous "dubham", it means kidney. Church Records list the christenings of Anne Kydney on January 1st 1592 at Harrow on the Hill, London and Anne, daughter of John And Anne Kitney, on August 1st 1722 at St Mary Whitechapel, Stepney. The marriage of Edward Kitney to Elizabeth Gammon took place on September 21st 1743 in Boxley, Kent. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is blue, on a gold chevron between two silver lambs in chief and a silver ram in base three red lambs kidneys. The Crest is on a green mount an eagle requardant rising proper, in the beak a kidney, as in the arms.
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Kidney, which was dated June 1st 1598, marriage to Jane Bulton, at Harrow on the Hill, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603.
Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England, this was known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
Kitney Surname - Variation 3
Variant Spellings: Ketney Kedney Kidney
This surname originally, de Kytney, is of Norman stock, introduced to England at the Norman Conquest 1066. Many corruptions have evolved throughout the centuries even as far back as 1273, when a branch registered in the Domesday records was for a Hervet de Gedeney of Lincoln.
Some Early Registrations:
1593 John Kitney buried at St. Jasper’s Church, Clerkenwell
1665 Thomas Kitney and Mary Vellis married, London
A private Kidney from Lancashire whose grandfather was Kitney, scored the high in the first stage of the Queen’s Prize at Wimbledon, July 10th 1888.
Coat of Arms: As in other surname information and illustrations on other pages.