King


Select King Surname Genealogy

The surname King is not unfortunately descended from a king.  It generally started as a nickname, for someone who had displayed himself in a kingly manner or who had played the king in one of the pageants that were so popular in medieval times.   Every village had its Mayday king and at the feast of the Epiphany one of the company was always elected king.  

Select King Resources on The Internet

England.  The first references to King as a surname appeared in Devon.  Aelwine se Cyng was recorded there in 1050.  Early spellings in Devon and Dorset were Kynge and Kinge.  The King surname later spread around the country.  There were numbers in the north, in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and in the south, in Hampshire, Kent and Essex.

Ireland.  King in Ireland could be an English import (Sir John King had been granted land in Roscommon by Queen Elizabeth and these Kings became established in Ireland as the Earls of Kingston); or it could be an anglicization of a number of Gaelic names, in particular O'Cionga (a family which in medieval times was seated on the isle of Inismor in Lough Ree, Westmeath). 

America.  Early King arrivals were English.  The largest number came from Ireland.  And there were German and Jewish King immigrants as well.

Select King Names

Tom King, a friend of Dick Turpin, was an 18th century highwayman.
Martin Luther King was the American civil rights leader assassinated in 1968.
Billy Jean King won 12 women's Grand Slam titles in tennis during her time at the top in the 1960's and 1970's.
Stephen King is a best-selling modern author.
B.B. King is an American blues guitarist and singer songwriter.

Select Kings Today
  • 161,000 in the UK (most numerous in Sussex)
  • 140,000 in America (most numerous in Texas)
  • 115,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Canada)

Select Surname List

For other surnames check the companion selectsurname.com site where there are to be found the history and genealogy for more than 500 surnames.

Return to Main Page