Contents [hide]

Pullin History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Pullin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Pullin is an ancient name dating from the times of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person who was 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 Pullin family

The surname Pullin 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 Pullin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pullin 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 Pullin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pullin Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Pullin include Pulleine, Pullen, Pullan, Pulleyn, Pulling and many more.

Early Notables of the Pullin 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 Pullin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pullin Ranking

In the United States, the name Pullin is the 12,973^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Pullin migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Pullin were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Pullin Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Roger Pullin, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 3
Constance Pullin, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 3
Margaret Pullin, who arrived in Maryland in 1666 3
Samp Pullin, who landed in Virginia in 1666 3
Richard Pullin, who landed in Maryland in 1667 3

Pullin Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Francis Pullin, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1734 3
Thomas Pullin, who arrived in Rhode Island in 1754 3

Pullin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Geo Pullin, aged 29, who landed in Virginia in 1813 3

Pullin Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Cyril Pullin, aged 19, who landed in America from London, England, in 1911
Anna Sophia Pullin, aged 48, who landed in America from Bristol, England, in 1912
Charles Pullin, aged 61, who landed in America from Acton, England, in 1912
Cyril Pullin, aged 19, who immigrated to the United States from Acton, England, in 1912
Alfred Mark Pullin, aged 19, who settled in America from Bristol, England, in 1912
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Pullin migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pullin Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Charles I Pullin, who landed in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862

Pullin migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Pullin Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Pullin, aged 25, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Shamrock" in 1856

Pullin migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4

Pullin Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Edward Pullin, aged 27, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Pullin (post 1700) +

Cyril Pullin (1893-1973), English inventor, engineer and motorcycle race driver
John Vivian Pullin (1941-2021), England international rugby union player
Jorge Pullin (b. 1963), Argentine physicist, the Horace Hearne Chair in theoretical Physics at the Louisiana State University
Alex Pullin (1987-2020), nicknamed Chumpy, an Australian snowboarder who competed at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics
Mr. Kenneth John Hillary Pullin B.E.M., British recipient of the British Empire Medal on 8th June 2018, for services to Archaeology and Heritage in Northern Ireland
Alfred William Pullin (1860-1934), British sports journalist

The Pullin Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Nulla pallescere culpa
Motto Translation: To turn pale from no crime.

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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies