Allin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Allin is an ancient French surname that came from the region of Normandy and is derived from the ancient given name Allen, meaning rock. This type of surname is known as a patronymic name, and comes from a broad category of surname types, known as hereditary surnames. Today there is a small town named Allain in north-eastern France.

Early Origins of the Allin family

The surname Allin was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this family held a family seat since very early times.

During the early Middle Ages the members of the family distinguished themselves through their involvement in the politics of the country, focusing on the welfare of their province. Through the years the family prospered and grew, and therefore branched into to several other areas.

By the 1700's members were prominently engaged in politics and François Allain was elected deputy at the Estates General at Saint-Malo in 1789. A member of this family who became notable through his contribution to society was François-Marie Allain de Launay, who served the King as Counselor and was elected President of the municipal district of Carhaix.

Descending from the original line of Normandy, François-Mathieu Alein, who came from a branch family, was the legal agent of the imperial treasure at Mouzon. He was highly esteemed and therefore elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Simon Alain, born in 1646 and baptized on 18th August 1648, son of André and Catherine (née Marc), travelled from Rouen, Normandy to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Jeanne Maufait, daughter of Pierre and Marie (née Duval), on 15th April 1670. 1

Early History of the Allin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Allin research. Another 106 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1113 is included under the topic Early Allin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Allin Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Allin, including Alain, Alains, Alin, Alein, Alan, Allain, Allains, Allin, Allein, Allan, Aland, Alland, Aling, Alling, Alen, Allen, Aleng, Alleng, Alène and many more.

Early Notables of the Allin family

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

Allin migration to the United States +

In the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, Acadia were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Allin were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Allin were

Allin Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

George Allin, aged 24, who arrived in New England in 1635 from Weymouth, England possible boat is Mary Gould 2
Thomas Allin, aged 17, who landed in Virginia in 1635 2
Thomas Allin, aged 31, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 2
Richard Allin, aged 22, who landed in Virginia in 1635 2
Mr. James Allin, (b. 1616), aged 19, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Safety" arriving in Virginia in 1635 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Allin Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Allin, who landed in Virginia in 1702 2

Allin 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

Allin Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. John Allin, (b. 1611), aged 23, British settler travelling from London, UK arriving in St Christopher (St. Kitts) on 5th January 1634 2
Mr. William Allin, (b. 1609), aged 25, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Allin (post 1700) +

Brigadier-General George R. Allin (1880-1956), American Commandant of the Field Artillery School (1941-1942) 5
John Maury Allin, Episcopal Clergyman, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, U.S.A
Thomas William Allin (1987-2016), English cricketer who played for Warwickshire County Cricket Club (2011-2013)
Eric Allin Cornell (b. 1961), American Nobel prize-winning (2001) physicist
Mary Allin Travers (1936-2009), American folk singer in the group "Peter, Paul and Mary"
Allin Kempthorne, British comedy actor, writer and entertainer from Penryn, Cornwall
Allin Depew (1886-1959), American politician, Candidate for New York State Senate 30th District, 1930 6

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. 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)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved October 5th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 6) George Allin. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Allin/George_R./USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html