Kilpin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Kilpin came to England with the ancestors of the Kilpin family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from given name Gilpin or in some circumstances from an ancestor and in "the son of Gilbert." 1 The surname came to denote a son or descendent of one who was named Gilpin.

Another source notes that the name is "armorially identified with Galpine, a form of Galopin. Bernardus Galopin of Normandy, 1198 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae.) 2

Early Origins of the Kilpin family

The surname Kilpin was first found in Westmorland "seated at Kentmere Hall, temp. King John." 3

"Kentmere Hall, the ancient residence of the Gilpins, and now occupied as a farmhouse, is a lofty quadrangular tower, four stories in height, built of rude ragstone, and having a massive and venerable aspect. Bernard Gilpin, the divine, was born at the Hall in 1517." 4

Early History of the Kilpin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kilpin research. Another 154 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1167, 1216, 1514, 1517, 1539, 1541, 1583, 1602, 1625, 1661, 1700, 1879 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Kilpin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kilpin 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 Gilpin, Gilpins, Gylpin, de Gilpin and others.

Early Notables of the Kilpin family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Bernard Gilpin (1517-1583) the 'Apostle of the North,' born at Kentmere, Westmorland, in 1517. "He came, both by father and mother, of ‘ancient and honourable’ families. His mother was daughter of William Laton of Delamain, Cumberland. Having received the rudiments of education at a grammar school in the north, Gilpin was sent to Queen's College, Oxford, at the age of sixteen. At Oxford he was much attracted to the works of Erasmus, and received help in acquiring Greek and Hebrew from Mr. Neale, a fellow of New College, and afterwards the author of...
Another 162 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kilpin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kilpin family to Ireland

Some of the Kilpin family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 180 words (13 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kilpin 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 Kilpin name or one of its variants:

Kilpin Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Kilpin, who arrived in Maryland in 1669 5

Kilpin Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Kilpin, who landed in Virginia in 1702 5

Kilpin migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Kilpin Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Kilpin, (b. 1828), aged 41, British farm labourer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Hydaspes" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th September 1869 6
Mrs. Frances Kilpin, (b. 1833), aged 36, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Hydaspes" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th September 1869 6
Mr. Thomas Kilpin, (b. 1860), aged 9, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Hydaspes" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th September 1869 6
Miss Emma Kilpin, (b. 1863), aged 6, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Hydaspes" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th September 1869 6
Mr. Andrew J. Kilpin, (b. 1868), aged 1, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Hydaspes" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th September 1869 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Kilpin (post 1700) +

Arthur Kilpin Bulley (1861-1942), Liverpool cotton merchant and philanthropist who created Ness Botanic Gardens, near the English and Welsh Border in Cheshire

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html