Show ContentsHelling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The illustrious surname Helling is classified as a habitation surname, which was originally derived from a place-name, and is one form of surname belonging to a broader group called hereditary surnames. Habitation names were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Topographic names, form the other broad category of surnames that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.

Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. Helling is a place-name from in Devon. Hillion, near Saint-Brieux, was the birthplace of Herve d'Helion, a companion of William the Conqueror who was awarded a barony and lands in Devon. The name could also have been a baptismal name derived from the son of Heilin.

Early Origins of the Helling family

The surname Helling was first found in Brittany, where Hillion, near Saint-Brieux, was the birthplace of Herve d'Helion, a companion of William the Conqueror who was awarded a barony and lands in Devon. It is there that the family established its family seat at Ashton and Credy-Helion.

Some of the family were found in the parish of St. Ewe, Cornwall. "The manor of Heligan, was at an early period the property of the Heligans, from whom it passed by female heirs to the Tregarthians, and Whitleghs, and from the latter by co-heiresses to the families of Grenville and Hals." 1

Shropshire, on the border of Wales, was of particular significance to the family. For it was here that in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, Philip filius Heilin, Robert filius Heilin and B'ucha uxor Heilini were recorded as holding lands at that time. 2

Early History of the Helling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Helling research. Another 184 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1190, 1273, 1562, 1600, 1631, 1662, 1685, 1705, 1708, 1711, 1728, 1736, 1759, 1861 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Helling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Helling Spelling Variations

Since the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules, Breton surnames have many spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England after the Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Heylin, Heylen, Haylin, Hayling, Heylins, Heylens and many more.

Early Notables of the Helling family

Notable of this family during the Middle Ages was Rowland Heyyn or Heylin (1562?-1631), Sheriff of London, "descended from an ancient family seated at Pentreheylin in the parish of Llandysilio, Mongomeryshire, whose members were hereditary cupbearers (as the name signifies) to the princes of Powys. " 3Peter Heylin (1600-1662) of Burford, Oxfordshire, a theologian and historian whose controversial writings made him famous. He was born at Burford, Oxfordshire, in 1600, and was second son of Henry Heylyn by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Clampard of Wrentham, Kent...
Another 88 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Helling Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Helling family to Ireland

Some of the Helling family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Helling migration to the United States +

Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Helling, or a variant listed above:

Helling Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • H. Nicholas Helling, who arrived at Philadelphia in 1750
  • H Nicholas Helling, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1750 4
  • Peter Helling, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1752 4
Helling Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Frederick Helling, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1802 4
  • Bern Helling, who landed in America in 1843 4
  • John Helling, who arrived in Indiana in 1852 4
  • Henry Helling, who settled in Philadelphia in 1854
Helling Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. Sidney John Helling, (b. 1884), aged 20, Cornish carpenter from Redruth, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 8th May 1904 en route to Houghton, Michigan, USA 5
  • Mr. Herbert Edward Helling, (b. 1886), aged 19, Cornish miner from Redruth, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Suttercreek, California, USA 5

Helling migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Helling Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • William Helling, who settled in Temple Bay, Newfoundland in 1782 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Helling (post 1700) +

  • Katherine Helling, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Senator from Wyoming, 1990 7
  • K. H. Helling, American politician, Member of Minnesota State Senate 37th District, 1879 7


  1. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  4. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  5. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  6. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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