Welcome to the Kennett Family Tree.

This tree details the Kennett family which originated in (or near) Canterbury and spread to the south of Kent, to the sea ports along the south coast of the U.K. - Deal, Folkstone & Dover. The tree starts with John Kennett born 1520 in St.Georges, Canterbury (it is not clear if this is in the city of Canterbury or the wider area of the 'See of Canterbury').

With many of this family being based in sea-faring ports, it was inevitable that some of them, and their relations, sailed away to more distant parts - including Cornwall, Ireland and Australia.

The origin of the surname Kennett is thought to have originated from the name of a Cambridgeshire village or the River Kennet in Wiltshire and the East and West Kennett villages either side of it. However, the present-day Norman form of the name Kennett, is Quenet (or Quenot) and this was thought to have been the original name of these villages. If this is the case, the name may have come to England with the Norman conquest. Another thought is that as the biggest population of Kennett's in the UK lived in Kent, it could also be a derivation of the name of the county of Kent.

Currently my Family Tree contains over 10,000 individuals - too many for a single web site. Therefore the main surname groups in the tree have each been given their own web site - see links to them on the 'Links' page.

John Sumner

 

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