Show ContentsHegland History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Hegland surname is thought to come from the Norman female personal name, Agilina, originally of Germanic origin.

Early Origins of the Hegland family

The surname Hegland was first found in Bedfordshire (Old English: Bedanfordscir), located in Southeast-central England, formerly part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held estates in that shire.

Early History of the Hegland family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hegland research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1455 and 1487 are included under the topic Early Hegland History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hegland Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Hegland include Eglin, Eglon, Egling, Eggling, Egland, Eglen, Eagland, Eaglin, Eaglon, Hegland, Heglin, Heglen, Hegling, Egolyn and many more.

Early Notables of the Hegland family

More information is included under the topic Early Hegland Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hegland Ranking

In the United States, the name Hegland is the 16,141st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1]

Migration of the Hegland family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Hegland or a variant listed above: Robert Eglan, who settled in Maryland in 1737; and James Egland, who arrived in New York, NY in 1823.


Contemporary Notables of the name Hegland (post 1700) +

  • Sheridan N. Hegland, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1960 [2]


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook