The name Allihan has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in the place named Allingham, which was in Kent. Allingham is a compound name, composed of the Old English elements Alling, which means holly, and ham, which means homestead. Thus, Allingham means holly homestead. [1]
The surname Allihan was first found in Kent where they were Lords of the manor of Allingham. [2]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Allihan research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 161 and 1613 are included under the topic Early Allihan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Allihan have been found, including Alingham, Allingham, Hallingham, Allighan and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Allihan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Allihan family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Allihan, or a variant listed above: Walter Alinham who settled in Barbados in 1704. In Newfoundland, James Allingham, from County Donegal, settled in St. John's in 1834; William Allingham was a fisherman of the Brandy Islands in 1869.