Show ContentsHyn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Hyn comes from the Boernician Scottish-English border region. The Hyn family lived in Berwickshire. They held the barony of Home from very early times and possibly predate the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Home family is part of a noble lineage descending from the Earls of Dunbar, and the family of the Earl of Northumberland, the great Gospatrick, a descendent of the Kings of Bernicia. They first appear in the records in 1268, when William of Home appeared on a charter. They next appear (as so many of the prominent Scottish families do) in 1296, when Geffrai de Home of Lanarkshire swore an oath of allegiance (in the Ragman Rolls) to King Edward I of England after that king's brief conquest of Scotland.

Early Origins of the Hyn family

The surname Hyn was first found in Berwickshire an ancient county of Scotland, presently part of the Scottish Borders Council Area, located in the eastern part of the Borders Region of Scotland. They held the barony of Home from very early times, and possibly predate the Norman Conquest in 1066. There were many branches of the Hyn family including the Homes of Cowdenknowes, the Homes of Wedderburn, the Homes of Manderston, the Homes of Renton, the Homes of Kames, and the Homes of Blackadder.

Early History of the Hyn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hyn research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1456, 1468, 1506, 1560, 1569, 1604, 1609, 1641, 1645, 1648, 1671, 1696, 1698, 1702, 1724, 1797 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hyn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hyn Spelling Variations

Since medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, and since there were no consistent rules for the translation of rules from Gaelic to English, spelling variations are extremely common in Boernician names of this vintage. Hyn has been spelled Humes, Hum, Humme, Humm, Homes and others.

Early Notables of the Hyn family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Sir Alexander Home or Hume (d. 1456), of Home, Warden of the Marches, the eldest son of Sir Alexander Home of Dunglass 1; Alexander Home, 2nd Lord Home (c.1468-1506), a Scottish nobleman and soldier, Lord Chamberlain of Scotland and Warden of the Eastern March; Alexander Hume (c.1560-c.1609), Scottish poet; Tobias Hume (c.1569-1645), a Scottish composer, viol player and...
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hyn Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Hyn family to Ireland

Some of the Hyn family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 89 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hyn family

Many of the Boernician-Scottish families who crossed the Atlantic settled along the eastern seaboard in communities that would become the backbone of the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. In the War of Independence, American families that remained loyal to the Crown moved north into Canada and became known as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestral culture of all of these proud Scottish families remains alive in North America in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Hyn or a variant listed above: John Home, who arrived in Virginia in 1621; Richard Home, who came to Virginia in 1623; James Hume, who settled in Virginia in 1648; Alistair John, Thomas and David Hume, who all arrived in Boston Massachusetts in 1651.



  1. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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