Show ContentsHallmark History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Hallmark Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Hallmark

What does the name Hallmark mean?

Hallmark is an ancient Scottish name that was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. It is a name for someone who lived in "Argyleshire, who transposed the syllables of his name on coming to the South (England). Most if not all the existing hearers of this singular patronymic descend from a Richard Almoke, of Yorkshire, whose curious will, with that of his son John is printed in Arch. Journ, v. 316. In 34 and 35, Hen. VIII., this Richard is written Awmoke, and still later Hawmoke." 1

Another source claims the family is from "Almeneches, a location name in Normandy (?) There is a tradition that a Scotchman, coming to London, changed his name from MacAll to Allmack! It may be so." 2

Early Origins of the Hallmark family

The surname Hallmark was first found in Dumfriesshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Dhùn Phris), a Southern area, bordering on England that today forms part of the Dumfries and Galloway Council Area, where this curious name is descended from Robert M'Kawele, Lord of Karsneloughe, who was living in 1370 in Guffok land in Nithsdale. 3

Traditionally within the family name, the first Allmack or Allmark was a MacAll who on migrating south to Yorkshire found it more fashionable to drop the Mac from his name to become accepted in the English society. Progressively the name became Allmack, Allmark, Allmoke, Hawmoke. William Allmack, "one of the founders of the city of Victoria in that Colony (Hong Kong) was honored by Almack Place in that city. He died on his voyage from China in 1846. The Almack motto, based upon the supposed Scottish extraction of the race, is MACK AL SICKER." 1

Early History of the Hallmark family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hallmark research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1500 and 1846 are included under the topic Early Hallmark History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hallmark Spelling Variations

Prior to the first dictionaries, scribes spelled words according to sound. This, and the fact that Scottish names were repeatedly translated from Gaelic to English and back, contributed to the enormous number of spelling variations in Scottish names. Hallmark has been spelled Allmark, Almark, Allmoke, Hawmoke, Hallmark, Allmack, Aulmark and many more.

Early Notables of the Hallmark family

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

Hallmark Ranking

In the United States, the name Hallmark is the 7,208th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Hallmark family to Ireland

Some of the Hallmark family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hallmark family

In such difficult times, the difficulties of raising the money to cross the Atlantic to North America did not seem so large compared to the problems of keeping a family together in Scotland. It was a journey well worth the cost, since it was rewarded with land and freedom the Scots could not find at home. The American War of Independence solidified that freedom, and many of those settlers went on to play important parts in the forging of a great nation. Among them: Thomas Allmark who settled in Barbados in 1780.

Contemporary Notables of the name Hallmark (post 1700) +

  • Roger Hallmark (1946-2014), American country music singer
  • Charlotte Hallmark, Cherokee American politician who served as the first female chief of the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama from 2006 to 2014

The Hallmark Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: MACK AL SICKER
  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  3. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  4. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/

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