What is "kensit"

Kensit is a surname of Olde English, pre-7th-century origins. It derives from a locality, probably either Kingsettle in Somerset, which translates as "the seat of the King", and is believed to relate to Alfred the Great, or possibly Kingside in Cumberland, or to some now lost village or town with a similar spelling. There are an amazing array of spelling forms: Kenset, Kensett, Kensit, Kenseth, Kingzett, Kingzeth, Kinzet and many others, itself an indication that the original site no longer exists, and therefore there is nothing with which to key the surname.

Notable people with the surname Kensit include:

• John Kensit (1853–1902), English religious leader and polemicist
• Patsy Kensit (born 1968), English actress
• maiden name of Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus (1877–1970), South African botanist