Billinger History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Ireland

Billinger is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Billinger family lived in Nottingham in the midlands of England. However, the family was originally descended from the Bellengers, the Knights of Facomberg in Picardy, France and the name has been corrupted from the name of the French Boulanger family, who were chevaliers (knights) of Hainaut and Flanders.

Early Origins of the Billinger family

The surname Billinger was first found in Worcestershire where John Belinger was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1275. [1]

From this earliest record, we move to 16th century London where William Bellinger is buried at St. Peter, Cornhill in 1563; and the same church records show Thomas Bland and Rose Bellynger married at that time. William Bellinger and Dorothy Ferrybye were married in 1572-3 and later, Richard Ashman and Joan Belinger were married in 1620. [2]

Early History of the Billinger family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Billinger research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1468, 1469, 1477, 1642 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Billinger History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Billinger Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Ballenger, Ballinger, Bellinger, Bellenger and others.

Early Notables of the Billinger family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Francis Bellinger (died 1721), an English physician, an original member of the Spalding Society.John Bellinger was a "bookseller in London; Cliffords...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Billinger Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Billinger family to Ireland

Some of the Billinger family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 162 words (12 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Billinger migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Billinger name or one of its variants:

Billinger Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johann Friederich Billinger, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1751

Billinger Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Andreas Billinger, aged 1, who arrived in New York in 1875 [3]
Andrew Billinger, who arrived in Baltimore, Maryland in 1875 [3]
Johannes Billinger, who arrived in New York, NY in 1878 [3]
John Billinger, who arrived in Kansas in 1878 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Billinger (post 1700) +

Karl Billinger (1902-1979), pseudonym of Paul Wilhelm Massing, a German sociologist, best known for his autobiographic novel Schutzhäftling 880, published in 1935 which was dedicated to all comrades in concentration camps
Richard Billinger (1893-1965), popular Austrian novelist of rural life

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)