Contents [hide]

Rawling History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Rawling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The Norman Conquest of England of 1066 added many new elements to the already vibrant culture. Among these were thousands of new names. The Rawling name is derived from the Norman given name Radulphus. 1 This name, which also occurs as Ralf, Rolf, and Raoul, is adapted from the Old French given name Raol. Alternatively, the name could have been a baptismal name as in "the son of Rowland" which is pronounced Rawland and Rolland in Furness and Cumberland, "where a large family of Rawlinsons has sprung up, undoubtedly descendants of Rowland through Rawlandson." 2

Early Origins of the Rawling family

The surname Rawling was first found in Oxfordshire where William Raulyn was listed at Evynsham in 1290. A few years later, John Rawlynes was found in Warwickshire in 1343. Almost two hundred years later, Richard Rawlinson was listed in Yorkshire in 1538. 3

The Rawlin, Rawline and Rawling spellings have been frequent in Scotland since the 16th century. Concentrated in Dumfriesshire, one of the first records was David Rawlynge who held a "botha seu opella" in Dumfries, 1588. Marcus Raulling was listed in Glencapill in 1630, Catherine Railing in Dumfries, 1642, and Thomas Rawling of Dumfries, 1696. 4 Some of the family were far to the south in Lansalloes, Cornwall where "the family of Rawlings" held titles. 5

Early History of the Rawling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rawling research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1508, 1521, 1523, 1536, 1576, 1610, 1620, 1631, 1647, 1670, 1679, 1690, 1705, 1706, 1708, 1755 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Rawling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rawling Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Rawlings, Rawlins, Rawlington, Rawlinson and others.

Early Notables of the Rawling family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Richard Rawlins (died 1536), English cleric, Bishop of St David's (1523-1536) and Warden of Merton College, Oxford (1508-1521); Thomas Rawlins (c.1620-1670), an English medallist and playwright; John Rawlinson (1576-1631), an English churchman and academic who was principal of St Edmund Hall, Oxford from 1610; Sir Thomas Rawlinson (1647-1708), Lord Mayor of the City of...
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rawling Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Rawling family to Ireland

Some of the Rawling family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rawling migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Rawling or a variant listed above were:

Rawling Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Rawling, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1643 6

Rawling Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ann Rawling, aged 23, who landed in New York in 1862 6
Edwin Rawling, aged 24, who arrived in New York in 1862 6

Rawling migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Rawling Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Stephen Rawling, English convict from Sadberge, who was transported aboard the "Andromeda" on October 16, 1826, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 7
Mr. John Rawling, English convict who was convicted in York, Yorkshire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Emerald Isle" on 25th June 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Richard Rawling, aged 27, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Thetis" 9
Thomas Rawling (aged 20) arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Hooghly" 10

Rawling 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:

Rawling Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Edward Rawling, (b. 1856), aged 19, Cornish labourer departing on 4th December 1875 aboard the ship "Rangitiki" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 16th February 1876 11

Contemporary Notables of the name Rawling (post 1700) +

Charles J. Rawling, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Wheeling, West Virginia, 1867-79 12
Tom Rawling (1916-1996), English teacher, angler and late-developing poet
Brigadier-General Cecil Godfrey Rawling CMG, CIE, DSO, FRGS (1870-1917), British soldier, explorer and author, known for his expeditions to Tibet and Dutch New Guinea; he was killed in killed in action aged 47 during the Battle of Passchendaele
Brian Rawling, British Grammy Award winning record producer and songwriter

The Rawling 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: Cognosce teipsum et disce pati
Motto Translation: Know thyself, and learn to suffer.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Andromeda voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1826 with 147 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/andromeda/1826
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emily
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) THETIS 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Thetis.htm
South Australian Register. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Rodney 1856. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/rodney1856.shtml
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html