KISBY/EE INDEX

'KISBY/KISBEE/KISBEY'  SURNAME ORIGINS

In the beginning there was...

Kisby, Kesby: Ralph de Kisebi 1205 Cur (L). From Keisby (Lincs). (A DICTIONARY OF BRITISH SURNAMES by P.H.Reaney, Routledge and Kegan Paul (1958)) Keasbey, Kisbee, Kisby, Kisbey.- Local, 'of Keisby,' a hamlet in the parish of Lavington, co. Linc.      (Dominus) de Kiseby, co. Linc., 1273. A. (A DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH AND WELSH SURNAMES by C.W.Bardsley, Henry Frowde OUP Warehouse (1901))

It is very evident that the spelling 'Kisby' was well in existence in the early C17th in North Cambridgeshire, England. Clearly, the spelling of a surname changed within short spaces of time, usually at the whim of whoever was literate e.g. the local priest.

Judith Kisbee (see Kisby Researchers Page) has traced the variant 'Kisbee' to the village of Barnwell, Northamptonshire, circa 1650.

Keisby nr. Bourne, Lincolnshire, England - containing, in 1856, 77 inhabitants and 1250 acres of land.

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Keisby,Lincolnshire, England OS grid ref. TF 037 286

Keisby
Li [Chisebi DB, Hy 2 DC, Kisebi Hy 2 DC, 1202 Ass] 'Kisi's BY'. ON Kisi, lit. 'cat', occurs as a byname.
(THE CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH PLACE-NAMES by E.K.WALL (1936))

Click here for a transcript of Ronald Caseby's e-mail about the village of Keisby (which is, after all, pronounced Case-by). Ron also shares his considered thoughts on the origins of Caseby/Keasby/Keisby/Kisby.

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