| {{ad}} |
|
|
|
| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The ancestry of the name Islas dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived on an island. The surname Islas is derived from the Old French word isle, which means island and has become the modern French word île. The surname Islas belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. However, the name Islas may also be a patronymic surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal names Æl or Æthel.
The surname Islas was first found in Somerset where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Islas research. Another 220 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1320, 1338, 1679, 1683, 1688, 1703, 1713, 1715, 1716, 1721, 1727, 1734, 1735 and 1745 are included under the topic Early Islas 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 Islas have been found, including Eyles, Eeles, Eels, Eylers and others.
Notables of the family at this time include Sir John Eyles, Lord Mayor of London; John Eyles (died 1703), of Great St. Helens, London and Southbroom, near Devizes, Wiltshire, an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Devizes in 1679; Sir Francis Eyles, 1st Baronet (died 1716), Governor of the Bank of England; and his son, Sir John Eyles, 2nd Baronet (1683-1745) of Gidea Hall, Essex, a British financier. He served as a director of the Bank of...
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Islas Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Islas is the 8,729th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1
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 Islas, or a variant listed above: