The name Hille was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Hille family lived near or on a hill. Hille, which was extremely popular and widely distributed in England, is a classic example of an English polygenetic surname, which is a surname that was developed in a number of different locations and adopted by various families independently. The name was originally derived from the Old English hyll, which simply meant hill or dweller by the hill. [1]
The surname Hille was first found in Worcestershire, where one line is descended from the De Montes of Castlemorton in Worcestershire. The manor of Hillend in Castlemorton, Worcester was likely built on land held by Odo de Monte, or Hill, in 1238-9. Richard Hill of Castlemorton is mentioned in 1383 and John Hill of Castlemorton in 1408-9. John Hill died about 1623 holding a "messuage" at Hillend, which then passed to his son Thomas. [2]
Other early records of the name include Gilbert del Hill, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Norfolk in 1191; William "attehil" (literally at the hill,) who was listed in 1260 in the Assize Rolls of Cornwall, and Simon Hille who was listed in the Rotuli Hundredorum for Worcestershire of 1273. [1]
Again in Cornwall, "the rectory of St. Keverne, which had been appropriated to the priory of Beaulieu in Hampshire, was afterward for many years in the family of Hill. About the middle of the last century, the great tithes were sold by this family to the occupiers of the several estates, for a term of 999 years." [3]
Scotland was another ancient homeland for the family. In this case, the first record was William de la Hyll, son of Waldeve son of Aldewyn, who resigned lands in Mydilham in 1271. William o' the Hill rendered homage to King Edward I of England in 1296 and in 1321 William de le Hille was received to the king of England's peace." It was Richard de Hulle (Hill), 'a varlette of Scotland,' who 'stikked and killed' Catarine Mortimer, 'a damoisel of London,' one of the inmates of the harem of David II in 1360." [4]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hille research. Another 138 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1484, 1484, 1549, 1601, 1602, 1271, 1597, 1727, 1589, 1657, 1628, 1629, 1605, 1667, 1672, 1699, 1692, 1695, 1694, 1734, 1735, 1685, 1750, 1736, 1749, 1711, 1663, 1797 and are included under the topic Early Hille History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Hill, Hille, Hyll, Hills and others.
Distinguished members of the family include John Hill (1589-1657), an English merchant and politician, Member of Parliament for Dorchester (1628-1629); Roger Hill (1605-1667), of Poundsford, Somerset, an English judge and Member of Parliament; Michael Hill (1672-1699), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Saltash (1692-1695), appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland in 1694; James Hill (died 1734), an English master mason in Cheltenham...
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hille Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Hille is the 18,656th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [5]
Migration of the Hille family to IrelandSome of the Hille family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Hille migration to the United States +To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Hille or a variant listed above:
England
Germany
Scotland
