Show ContentsBilingsly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The lineage of the name Bilingsly begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in or near the parish of Billing, which was located in the diocese of Liverpool. The name of that place is derived from the Old English word bil, meaning sword or halberd, and later came to indicate a pruning hook used in harvesting fruit.

Early Origins of the Bilingsly family

The surname Bilingsly was first found in Lancashire at Chapel-End Billinge, a township and chapelry, in the parish and union of Wigan, hundred of West Derby. "Billinge anciently gave name to a family the chief line of which terminated about the reign of Edward I., in a female heir, who married into the Heyton family." 1

At one time the, Hengar, a parcel of the manor of Penrose-Burden, which extends into the parish of St. Breward in the parish of St. Judy, Cornwall was the family seat of the Billinge family "whose heiress married John Trelawny, Esq. of Coldrimnick." 2

Early History of the Bilingsly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bilingsly research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1481, 1600, 1680, 1687, 1746, 1758, 1800 and 1806 are included under the topic Early Bilingsly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bilingsly Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Bilingsly has undergone many spelling variations, including Billings, Billins, Billinge, Billing, Biling and others.

Early Notables of the Bilingsly family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Thomas Billing (d. 1481?), was an English Chief Justice, and is thought to have been a native of Northamptonshire, where two villages near Northampton bear his name, and to have afterwards lived in state at Ashwell...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bilingsly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bilingsly family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Bilingsly were among those contributors: Roger Billings who settled in Dorchester Massachusetts and was made a freeman of the town in 1643. He married Mary and had seven children from whom many of the present North American Billings are descended. Enoch Billings settled in Barbados in 1663.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print


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