Pilar Surname History

Origins Available:
England

The name Pilar is of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was name for a young buck; it is derived from the Old French word poulain, which meant colt. This nickname would have been given to a person given over to friskiness and possessed of a certain nervous energy in much the same way a young horse is. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character. Often nicknames described strong traits or attributes that people wished to emulate in a specific animal. In the pre-Christian era, many pagan gods and demigods were believed to be a mixture of animals and humans, such as the Greek god Pan who was the god of flocks and herds and was represented as a man with the legs, horns and ears of a goat. In the Middle Ages, anthropomorphic ideas, which attributed human qualities and form to gods or animals, were held about the characters of other living creatures. They were based on the creature's habits. Moreover, these associations were reflected in folk-tales, mythology, and legends which portrayed animals behaving as humans.

Early Origins of the Pilar family

The surname Pilar was first found in Yorkshire but one of the earliest record of the name was Robert Pullen (died 1146), an English theologian and official of the Roman Catholic Church. He is generally thought to have been born in Poole, Devonshire and first educated in England. He was Archdeacon of Rochester in 1134. Shortly after this appointment, he went to Paris. There, he taught logic and theology tutoring John of Salisbury, who describes him as a man commended both by his life and his learning in 1141. Back in France, we found that John and Ivo Polain were listed in Normandy (1185-1190.) A few years later nine of the name were listed there in 1198 1

Early History of the Pilar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pilar research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1517, 1565, 1598, 1631, 1648, 1654, 1657, 1667, 1690, 1713, 1714 and 1758 are included under the topic Early Pilar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pilar Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Pilar have been found, including Pulleine, Pullen, Pullan, Pulleyn, Pulling and many more.

Early Notables of the Pilar family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Samuel Pullen, Pullein, or Pulleyne (1598-1667), an English prelate, Archbishop of Tuam, son of William Pullein, rector of Ripley, Yorkshire; Benjamin Pulleyn (died 1690) the Cambridge tutor of Isaac Newton; Samuel Pullen (also Pullein and Pulleyne) (1598-1667), who was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Tuam; and Henry-Percy Pulleine who purchased Crake Hall. John Pullain (Pullayne or Pulleyne) (1517-1565) was a Yorkshire divine and poet who was educated at New College, Oxford. Josiah Pullen (1631-1714) was Vice-Principal...
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pilar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pilar migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become powerful new nations. Among early immigrants of the Pilar surname to cross the Atlantic and come to North America were:

Pilar Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ma Del Pilar, aged 25, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1831 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Pilar (post 1700) +

John Jay Pilar, American politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1972 3
María Pilar Valero Cebrián (1970-2022), Spanish basketball player who played as a shooting guard
Renée Pilar Estevez (b. 1967), American actress and writer, daughter of Martin Sheen
Pilar Seurat (1938-2001), born Rita Hernandez, a Philippine-American film and television actress in the 1960s
Pilar Pellicer (1938-2020), born Pilar Pellicer López de Llergo, a Mexican film actress who won the Ariel Award for Best Actress for La Choca
Pilar Barreiro Álvarez (b. 1955), Spanish politician, member of the People's Party
Pilar Elena Mazzetti Soler (b. 1946), Peruvian physician and politician, Minister of Health of Peru (2004-2006), Minister of Interior of Peru (2006-2007)
Pilar MacChione, American costume designer, known for The Ticket (2010)
Pilar Montserrat Lastra (b. 1981), American actress and model
Pilar Treviño Rosales, Marchioness of Loreto

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html