Kenyon

Kenyon is a surname of English origin. It is said to be Celtic for "Blonde",^{[citation needed]} among other meanings it also means "The White Haired Norseman",^{[citation needed]} the origins of the name are fairly well known.^{[citation needed]} The name first appears in English heraldry in the late thirteenth century when Jordan de Kenyon first took the name of the small vill he inheritted from his father.^{[citation needed]} The name appears in court records as early as 1300, but is believed to have been in use as early as 1256.^{[citation needed]} Kenyon is located west of Manchester and is within the Borough of Warrington, until recently in Cheshire. The location of Kenyon Hall is near the parish of Winwick and is currently used as a vegetable farm.^{[citation needed]}

According to family documents that once belonged to Lord Kenyon, Baron of Gedington, the Kenyon name is one of the oldest in England.^{[citation needed]} Descendents of the family are believed to come from Saxon invaders of the mid-fifth century who were rewarded with land for assisting in the Saxon invasion of what is now Lancashire.^{[citation needed]}

The first known Kenyon in America was "old John" Kenyon who is believed to have arrived in Rhode Island in 1684. He most likely arrived in the new world with his brother James.^{[citation needed]}

There are many wives tales regarding the meaning of the name. Some say it is Welsch for "rabbit" among other theories. The name as it is used by the family, however, is derived from a place.^{[citation needed]}

Places

• Kenyon, Warrington a civil parish, formerly in Lancashire, in Cheshire since 1974
• Kenyon Junction railway station a closed junction station
• Kenyonville, New York

Surname

• Baron Kenyon, barony since 1788, baronetcy since 1784
• Carol Kenyon, British singer
• Dean H. Kenyon, professor at SFSU
• Don Kenyon (1924-1996), English cricketer
• Dorothy Kenyon (1888-1972), New York lawyer
• E. W. Kenyon (1867-1948), evangelist and president of a Bible Institute
• Frederic G. Kenyon (1863-1952) biblical scholar
• Grant Yarrow Kenyon (1921-1992) Psychology Professor, Wichita State University
• Herbert Hollick-Kenyon (1897-1975), aircraft pilot in Antarctica
• James Kenyon (cinematographer) (1850-1925), English pioneer of cinematography
• Jane Kenyon (1947-1995), American poet and translator
• John Robert Kenyon (1907-1880), British legal academic
• John Samuel Kenyon (1874-!959), American phonetician
• Kathleen Kenyon (1906-1978), British archaeologist of Neolithic culture
• Leigh Kenyon (b. 1979), former English footballer
• Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon (1732-1802), British politician and barrister
• Mel Kenyon (b. 1933), American racing driver
• Nicholas Kenyon (b. 1951), English music administrator
• Peter Kenyon (b. 1954), chief executive of Chelsea Football Club
• Sandy Kenyon (b. 1922), American actor
• Sherrilyn Kenyon (b. 1965), American writer of pulp fiction novels
• Steve Kenyon (b. 1951), English long-distance runner
• Tom Kenyon, Australian politician
• William S. Kenyon (Iowa politician) (1869-1933), United States senator
• William Kenyon-Slaney (1847-1908), English sportsman, soldier and politician

Given name

• Kenyon Martin, professional basketball player for the NBA's Denver Nuggets
• Kenyon Clutter, from Truman Capote's novel In Cold Blood."

Other uses

• Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio
• The Kenyon Review, American literary journal
• Kenyon & Kenyon, American law firm specializing in intellectual property
• Kenyon and Knott, pronunciation dictionary of American English
• Kenyon, former name of Pineridge, California, United States
• Kenyon, Minnesota, United States
• Daisy Kenyon, 1947 film starring Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda

See also

• Kinyon (disambiguation)