Ayliff History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the Ayliff family arrived in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Ayliff came from from the Old Norse, Eilifr and was listed in the Domesday Book as Ailof and Eilaf, a personal name. 1

Early Origins of the Ayliff family

The surname Ayliff was first found in Northumberland where the first record of the family is of Eilaf filius Gospatric who was listed there in 1166. We presume the Ailef of Palestu (Palestine) was a returning Norman knight from the Holy Land about 1200. He, or his successors, later held estates in that shire in 1176. 2

The Chronicles of the Mayors and Sheriffs of London, 1188-1274 listed Arnaed Fitz-Aluf, as Sheriff of London in 1108.

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 had only one listing for the family: Robertus Haylyf and later the History of Norfolk listed Thomas Ayloffe, Essex, c. 1500. 3

Early History of the Ayliff family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ayliff research. Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1534, 1563, 1585, 1592, 1600, 1618, 1621, 1622, 1627, 1631, 1661, 1662, 1675, 1676, 1685, 1722 and 1732 are included under the topic Early Ayliff History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ayliff Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Ayloffe, Ayloff, Ayliffe, Ayliff and others.

Early Notables of the Ayliff family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

John Ayliffe, LL.D. (1676-1732) was an English jurist from Pember, Hampshire who was expelled from the University of Oxford in a high-profile controversy. Sir John Ayliffe was physician to Henry VIII...

Ayliff migration to Australia +

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

Ayliff Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Ayliff (Ayliffe), (b. 1799), aged 36, British Blacksmith born in Highworth, Wiltshire who was convicted in Gloucester, England for life for horse theft, transported aboard the "Asia" on 5th November 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land)1836, he died in 1872 4

Citations +

Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. 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)
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1835