Show ContentsGambilin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient Anglo-Saxon culture once found in Britain is the soil from which the many generations of the Gambilin family have grown. The name Gambilin was given to a member of the family who was a person who was referred to as gamall, which was the Old Norman word for old.

Gameline (d. 1271), was Lord-Chancellor of Scotland and Bishop of St. Andrews, "one of the ‘Clerici Regis Alexandri II’ and archdeacon of St. Andrews. He was made Lord-Chancellor in 1250, and in 1254 was appointed one of the chaplains of Pope Innocent IV." 1

Early Origins of the Gambilin family

The surname Gambilin was first found in Somerset, where an Odo filius Gamelin was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. 2 They have also been found in Huntingdonshire and Oxfordshire since early times.

Early History of the Gambilin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gambilin research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1255, 1271, 1273, 1379, 1625, 1666 and 1737 are included under the topic Early Gambilin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gambilin Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Gambilin family name include Gamelin, Gamelyn, Gamlyn, Gimlin, Gamlin, Gamblin, Gambling, Gambeling and many more.

Early Notables of the Gambilin family

Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gambilin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gambilin family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Gambilin surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Elizabeth, Mary and Robert Gamlin, who sailed to Massachusetts in 1632; Josias Gambling to Virginia in 1636; and William Gambling to Philadelphia in 1846..



  1. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook