Hamelton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

The Hamelton family name, was a Norman name that came to Scotland from England. It is thought to derive from the village of Hamilton or Hameldune near Barkby in the county of Leicestershire. The village name comes from the Old English elements "hamel," which means "blunt," "flat-topped," or "crooked," and "dun," which means hill. There is a town of Hamilton near Glasgow, which took its name from the family, but may in turn have spawned more instances of the surname.

Early Origins of the Hamelton family

The surname Hamelton was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland, where they were granted lands by King Robert the Bruce of Scotland.

The Clan traces its origin to the Earls of Mellent in Normandy who arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066 AD. They were granted lands in Hambleton in Buckinghamshire. Soon after, Sir William de Hambleton accepted a challenge from John de Spence. Spence was killed, drawing the wrath of King Edward II of England. Sir William fled northwards with his entourage to Scotland, hotly pursued by the king's men. With their pursuers close behind them, Sir William and his servant exchanged clothes with two wood cutters and, using their saw, they cut down a large oak tree to bridge a river. Finally, when at last the tree fell, Sir William cried 'through' and they escaped across the river over the tree. The Clan Hamilton has retained this motto since that eventful day.

Early History of the Hamelton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hamelton research. Another 157 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1280, 1282, 1296, 1307, 1333, 1392, 1495, 1504, 1520, 1528, 1563, 1575, 1580, 1600, 1604, 1607, 1610, 1623, 1626, 1633, 1636, 1637, 1640, 1646, 1650, 1655, 1658, 1659, 1663, 1666, 1668, 1669, 1670, 1674, 1679, 1685, 1701, 1706, 1707, 1715, 1719, 1720, 1721, 1734 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hamelton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hamelton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Hamilton, Hamelton, Hameldon, Hamildon, Hamylton, Hambleton and many more.

Early Notables of the Hamelton family

Notable among the family at this time was Sir Patrick Hamilton (d. 1520), a Scottish nobleman, and younger brother of aforementioned James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran; his son, Patrick Hamilton (c.1504-1528), Scottish Protestant martyr, charged with heresy, sentenced by Archbishop Beaton, and burned at the stake in 1528; Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington (1563-1637), Scottish administrator, Lord Advocate, judge, and Lord Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire; Patrick Hamilton (c. 1575-1658), a minister of The Church of Scotland during a turbulent period in Scotland's history, also a poet; Archibald Hamilton (1580-1659), the fourth Anglican Archbishop of Cashel, nominated Bishop of Killala and...
Another 161 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hamelton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hamelton family to Ireland

Some of the Hamelton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 159 words (11 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hamelton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hamelton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Amos Hamelton, who landed in Virginia in 1650 1
Johan Hamelton, who arrived in New Netherland(s) in 1660 1

Hamelton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Hamelton, who landed in Mississippi in 1798 1

Hamelton migration to Canada +