The English surname Kinyon, a variant of Kenyon, mainly found in Lancashire, is an habitational name from a place near Warrington. There was formerly an ancient burial mound there and Ekwall has speculated that the name is a shortened form of a British name composed of the elements cruc meaning “mound” and  the Welsh  personal name  Einion. The modern surname is now found in various spellings. These include Kenyon, Kinyon and Kennion. Early examples of the surname recordings include: Jordan Kenyon of Lancashire in the year 1260, and Nicholas Kynion of Cheshire in 1288. Jacobus Kenyon was a member of the famous Preston Guild, being recorded as a shoemaker in the year 1562. James Kenyon arrived in New York in 1834 and today there are 1,400 bearers of the name Kinyon living in the US.