Gatlin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Gatlin is one of the oldest family names to come from the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from the Old French names Caterine and Cateline, which were forms of the personal name Catharine. These names were introduced into England in the 12th century and became very popular, especially in the variant forms Catelin and Cateline. Thus the surname Gatlin is a metronymic type of surname, and is derived from the name of the original bearer's mother.

Early Origins of the Gatlin family

The surname Gatlin was first found in Wiltshire. Some of the first records of the family were found her in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 that included early spelling of the name: Geoffrey Gatelin; and Johanna Gatelyn. 1

Richard Jordan Gatling (1818-1903) was the American inventor of his eponymous Gatling gun, considered to be the first successful machine gun that first saw service in 1862. Born on the family plantation in Como, Hertford County, North Carolina, he was a successful inventor by the age of 21 inventing the screw propeller for steamboats. His grandfather William James Gatling (1760-1822), was from Virginia.

Early History of the Gatlin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gatlin research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1520, 1545, 1547, 1556, 1559, 1574, 1583, 1625, 1634, 1640, 1644, 1662, 1679, 1685, 1689 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Gatlin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gatlin Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Gatlin has undergone many spelling variations, including Catlin, Catling, Catlyn, Catlyne, Catlyng and others.

Early Notables of the Gatlin family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Robert Catlin (died 1574), English jurist, Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench (1559-1574). He was born at Beby in Leicestershire, though his ancestry is said to have belonged to Northamptonshire. He was a member of the Middle Temple, and was appointed reader to that society in 1547. 2Richard Catlyn (by 1520-1556), of Norwich and Honingham, Norfolk and Serjeants' Inn...
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gatlin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gatlin Ranking

In the United States, the name Gatlin is the 2,422^nd most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 3

Gatlin migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Gatlin were among those contributors:

Gatlin Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Henry Gatlin, who arrived in Maryland in 1665 4

Gatlin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Gatlin, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 4
Jose Gatlin, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1869 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Gatlin (post 1700) +

Harold C. Gatlin, United States Antarctic Research Program meteorologist at South Pole Station in the winter of 1964, eponym of Gatlin Glacier on the south side of McGregor Glacier, Antarctica
Lieutenant Donald H. Gatlin, U.S. Navy Reserve, a navigator on LC-130 aerial photographic flights during Operation Deep Freeze 1968 and 1969, eponym of Gatlin Peak, in Palmer Land, Antarctica
Richard Caswell Gatlin (1809-1896), Confederate general during the American Civil War
Alfred Moore Gatlin (1790-1841), American Congressional Representative from North Carolina
Larry Wayne Gatlin (b. 1948), American country music singer best-known as the lead in Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers
Justin Gatlin (b. 1982), American sprinter and Olympic gold medalist
Marion Gatlin, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for U.S. Representative from Indiana 11th District, 1946 5
Lynette Maddocks Gatlin, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 2000 5
John G. Gatlin, American politician, Postmaster at Darlington Court House, South Carolina, 1890-93; Darlington, South Carolina, 1893-94 5
Fred Gatlin, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Kansas, 1972 5
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html