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What is the origin of the name? According to The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames (Basil Cottle, Penguin, 1967) Binsted and Binstead are “local” surnames derived from the Saxon Benestede “place where beans are grown”. Binsteed is not specifically mentioned but is clearly a less common variation of the spelling, bearing in mind the geographical contiguity of this spelling with the others. There are three English parishes by the name: Binsted, near Alton in Hampshire; Binsted, near Arundel in Sussex and Binstead near Ryde on the Isle of Wight. There is a Binstead Island in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef named after a master mariner from Chichester who worked in the Torres Strait Pilot Service. There are also two roads in the Australian Gold Coast named after Binstead pioneers of the area. English local surnames may derive from the manor held, from the place of residence, or from the place from which a man had come. (To read a more detailed account of the origin of English surnames, click here.) So far in the research, nothing has come to light to suggest that any Binsteads were lords of the manor, though some did hold land. Thus one can presently presume that we derived our names from where we were or where we had come from during the period that surnames became hereditary. In the 16th and 17th centuries the centre of gravity of the Binsteads was a few parishes just to the north of Portsea Island. Binstead Binsted Binsteed family genealogy home page
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2004-2010 Richard Binstead for Binstead Binsted Binsteed family genealogy |
