Stilling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Stilling is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. Stilling is a name that comes from the Norman name Steflingefled.

Early Origins of the Stilling family

The surname Stilling was first found in Yorkshire at Stillingfleet, a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire. The place dates back at least The Domesday Book where it was listed as Steflingefled from the Old English personal name + inga + fleot and literally meant "stretch of river belonging to the family or followers of a man called Styfel." 1

Early History of the Stilling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stilling research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1466, 1491, 1635, 1689 and 1699 are included under the topic Early Stilling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stilling Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Stillington, Stillingfleet and others.

Early Notables of the Stilling family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Robert Stillington (d. 1491), Bishop of Bath and Wells, and Lord Chancellor, the son of John Stillington, who held property at Nether Acaster, near York
Edward Stillingfleet (1635-1699), was a British theologian and scholar from Cranborne, Dorset considered to have been an outstanding preacher as well as a strong polemical writer defending Anglicanism...

Stilling migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Stilling or a variant listed above were:

Stilling Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Constantinus Stilling, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1742 2
Johannes Stilling, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1754 2
Andw Stilling, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1772 2
George Stilling, who landed in America in 1777-1783 2

Stilling Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Gerhard Hermann Stilling, aged 5, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 2
Gesina Stilling, aged 8, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 2
Anna Marie Stilling, aged 10, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 2
Bernhard Died Stilling, aged 44, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 2
Susanna Stilling, aged 36, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Stilling Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Henry Stilling, who arrived in New York, NY in 1910 2

Stilling 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:

Stilling Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Henry Stilling, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1844 aboard the ship Raymond

Contemporary Notables of the name Stilling (post 1700) +

Jakob Stilling (1842-1915), German ophthalmologist
Benedict Stilling (1810-1879), German anatomist and surgeon, father of Jakob Stilling

The Stilling Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Magna est veritas
Motto Translation: Great is truth.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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)