Neilsson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Neilsson

What does the name Neilsson mean?

Neilsson 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 Ayrshire. The Neilsson family name is also a Scottish patronymic name created from the personal name Neill. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Néill meaning "descendant, or son of Niall."

Early Origins of the Neilsson family

The surname Neilsson was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Scotland to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Neilsson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Neilsson research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1474 and 1654 are included under the topic Early Neilsson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Neilsson 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. Neilsson has been spelled Neilson, Nielson, Nilson, Nylson and others.

Early Notables of the Neilsson family

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

Migration of the Neilsson family to Ireland

Some of the Neilsson 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.

Neilsson migration to the United States +

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:

Neilsson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Neilsson, who landed in Mississippi in 1886 1

The Neilsson 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: His regi servitium
Motto Translation: With these we render service to the king.

Sources +

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)