This is a Staffordshire locational name which is probably of Ancient British Origin i.e. pre Roman. It is recorded in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles as "Cynibre" which translates as "the Royal Hill" with "Cyne" meaning "Royal" and "Bre" the original Celtic for hill. It is probable that the site was either a Royal Fortress or perhaps burial ground. As a locational name it would normally have been given when the original name holder(s) left the area, however, in this case the name also appears in Domesday Book in 1086 as "Chenevare of Stafford", although this is the place not a person, the modern spelling as Kinver or Kinvan being 17th century. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Kinvar which was dated C.1685 St. Mary's, Stafford during the reign of King Charles 11, known as "The Merry Monarch" 1660 - 1685. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.