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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The name Atlas is an old Anglo-Saxon name. It comes from when a family lived in Kent, where they held a family seat at Lee's Court. The original form of this name was atte Lee, which became modified to the shorter form Atlas.
The surname Atlas was first found in Kent where they held a family seat from ancient times, some say before the Norman Conquest in 1066.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Atlas research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1258 is included under the topic Early Atlas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Atlas were recorded, including Atlee, Attley, Attlie, Atleigh, Atley, Atleys and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Atlas Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Atlas is the 14,131st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1
To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Atlas family emigrate to North America: William Atlee, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1744, and descended was Walter Franklin Atlee related to Benjamin Franklin, also of Philadelphia.