Meaning "Valley of horses" Related names | Region of origin Cornwall | |
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Nankivell is a surname originating from Cornwall. Notable people with the surname include:
Origins
The name derives from 'Nanskeval' a place on the parish boundaries of St Mawgan in Pydar and St Columb Major, which in 1277 was spelled Nanscuvel. Nanskeval house was once the home of Liberal MP Edward Brydges Willyams and is still part of the Carnanton estate which is still owned by descendants of the same family. Nans means 'valley' in Old Cornish (Welsh: nant) and Kivell is thought to derive from the Cornish equivalent of the Welsh word ceffyl, meaning a horse. This meaning of the name is often quoted but is very unlikely. The Cornish for 'horse' is 'margh' (Welsh: march). A much more likely meaning of the name and its variants is "Valley of the Woodcock" since 'woodcock' in Cornish is 'kevelek' (Welsh: cyffylog, ceffylog - Scolopax rusticola) and woodcock were common in the woods in the Vale of Lanherne in St Mawgan in Pydar where Nanskeval House once was. The registers of the Parish of St Columb Major, Cornwall from the year 1539 to 1780 have this: "The name Nankivell is pure Keltic and means the Glen of the Woodcock (generally spelt Nanskevall)...an old oak wood, lies about 2 miles from St Columb". There are other authorities that agree with this.