Nilen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

There are several places named Newland in Britain including: a liberty in the parish of Hurst, Berkshire; a parish in Gloucestershire; a township in Lancashire; a parish in Worcestershire; and a hamlet in the East Rising of Yorkshire to list a few. Newlands is found in Cumberland, Derbyshire, Northumberland and Durham. 1

All have the same meaning: "new arable land," having derived from the Old English word "niwe," + land. The earliest seems to be found in Hertfordshire and Worcestershire which both date back to 1221. 2

Another source sums up the origin as someone "who dwelt on, or near, the newly cleared or newly acquired land; one who came from Newland, the name of various places in England." 3

Early Origins of the Nilen family

The surname Nilen was first found in Kent where Samson de la Niwelande was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1181. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 has two listings of the family in Cambridgeshire: Roger de la Neuelonde and Richard le de Neulond. The same rolls includes entries for Thomas de la Neulaund, Essex and G. de Neuland, Lincolnshire. 5

Somerset records show William atte Niwelond, Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign on King Edward III.) 6

Up in Scotland, "There was an old barony of Newlands in the sheriffdom of Kincardine, and a parish of the name in Peeblesshire, from either of which the surname may have been derived. The name was common in Glasgow in the sixteenth century, and common in the parish of Dalswinton till recent times. Jasper Newlands of that Ilk in record, 1469. Duncan Newlandis bailie of the burgh of Linlithgow, 1493, Peter Newlandis, witness there in 1537 (Johnstoun), and Kentigem Newlandis, witness in 1542." 7

Early History of the Nilen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nilen research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1469, 1481, 1483, 1515, 1573, 1597, 1640, 1648, 1670, 1675, 1688, 1702, 1706, 1726, 1730, 1743, 1748, 1782 and 1807 are included under the topic Early Nilen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nilen Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Nilen family name include Newland, Newling, Newley, Nieland, Newlan and others.

Early Notables of the Nilen family

Notables of this surname at this time include: John Newland (d. 1515), Abbot of St. Augustine's, Bristol, was born at Newland in the Forest of Dean, whence he took his name; he was also called Nailheart, which may have been his parents' name, and suggested the device or arms he adopted. He was elected abbot of St. Augustine's, Bristol, on 6 April 1481, but may have been obnoxious to Richard III, as Richard Walker was appointed abbot in 1483. 8Robert Newlyn (1597-1688), was an English clergyman and academic, President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford from 1640 to 1648; and Roger Newland...
Another 153 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Nilen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Nilen family to Ireland

Some of the Nilen 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 Nilen family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Nilen surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Rebecca Newland who came to Virginia in 1639; Mary Newland who came to Virginina in 1646; Richard Newland who came to Virginina in 1653; John Newland, who settled in Maryland in 1719.

Historic Events for the Nilen family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Austin Nilen, English Leading Seaman from England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 9

The Nilen 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: Le Nom, les armes, la loyauté
Motto Translation: The Name, the arms, the loyalty.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html