Show ContentsBylingslay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Anglo-Saxon name Bylingslay comes from the family having resided in or near the parish of Billing, which was located in the diocese of Liverpool. The name of that place is derived from the Old English word bil, meaning sword or halberd, and later came to indicate a pruning hook used in harvesting fruit.

Early Origins of the Bylingslay family

The surname Bylingslay was first found in Lancashire at Chapel-End Billinge, a township and chapelry, in the parish and union of Wigan, hundred of West Derby. "Billinge anciently gave name to a family the chief line of which terminated about the reign of Edward I., in a female heir, who married into the Heyton family." 1

At one time the, Hengar, a parcel of the manor of Penrose-Burden, which extends into the parish of St. Breward in the parish of St. Judy, Cornwall was the family seat of the Billinge family "whose heiress married John Trelawny, Esq. of Coldrimnick." 2

Early History of the Bylingslay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bylingslay research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1481, 1600, 1680, 1687, 1746, 1758, 1800 and 1806 are included under the topic Early Bylingslay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bylingslay Spelling Variations

Bylingslay has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Billings, Billins, Billinge, Billing, Biling and others.

Early Notables of the Bylingslay family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Thomas Billing (d. 1481?), was an English Chief Justice, and is thought to have been a native of Northamptonshire, where two villages near Northampton bear his name, and to have afterwards lived in state at Ashwell...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bylingslay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bylingslay family

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Bylingslays to arrive on North American shores: Roger Billings who settled in Dorchester Massachusetts and was made a freeman of the town in 1643. He married Mary and had seven children from whom many of the present North American Billings are descended. Enoch Billings settled in Barbados in 1663.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print


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