Show ContentsGamelin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Gamelin is an ancient Anglo-Saxon name. It was a name given to a person 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 Gamelin family

The surname Gamelin 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 Gamelin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gamelin 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 Gamelin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gamelin Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Gamelin has appeared include Gamelin, Gamelyn, Gamlyn, Gimlin, Gamlin, Gamblin, Gambling, Gambeling and many more.

Early Notables of the Gamelin family

More information is included under the topic Early Gamelin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gamelin family

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Gamelin arrived in North America very early: Elizabeth, Mary and Robert Gamlin, who sailed to Massachusetts in 1632; Josias Gambling to Virginia in 1636; and William Gambling to Philadelphia in 1846..


Contemporary Notables of the name Gamelin (post 1700) +

  • Jacques Gamelin (1738-1803), French artist
  • Émilie Tavernier Gamelin S.P. (1800-1851), French Canadian social worker and Roman Catholic Religious Sister, founder of the Sisters of Providence of Montreal, beatified by Pope John Paul II (2001)
  • General Maurice-Gustave Gamelin (1872-1958), French Commander in Chief Allied Forces in France (1939-1940) 3


  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)
  3. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 5) Maurice-Gustave Gamelin. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Gamelin/Maurice-Gustave/France.html


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