The history of the name Sellmyn begins with the
Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from the baptismal name
Soloman, which was an ancient
personal name. Baptismal names began to appear as surnames relatively late in the growth of the naming tradition. This is a little surprising, given the popularity of biblical figures in the Christian countries of Europe. Nevertheless, surnames derived from baptismal names grew in popularity during the Middle Ages, and have become one of the foremost sources for surnames. The surname Sellmyn also has origins as a
nickname for a man who was considered to be wise or fortunate.
Early Origins of the Sellmyn family
The surname Sellmyn was first found in
Surrey where they were Lords of the manor of Caterham from ancient times. Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Selham, a small village in the Chichester district of West
Sussex. The village dates back to the
Domesday Book where it was listed as Seleham and literally meant "homestead by a copse of sallow-trees."
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Early History of the Sellmyn family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sellmyn research.
Another 239 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1240, 1303, 1371, 1468, 1800, 1426, 1390, 1411, 1414, 1435, 1414 and 1435 are included under the topic Early Sellmyn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sellmyn Spelling Variations
The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,
spelling variations are common among early
Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Sellmyn has been recorded under many different variations, including Saleman, Salman, Selman, Selyman, Seleman and others.
Early Notables of the Sellmyn family (pre 1700)
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sellmyn Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Sellmyn family to the New World and Oceana
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded
England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Sellmyn or a variant listed above: George Selman who settled in Barbados in 1634; Michael Selman arrived in Philadelphia in 1741; another Michael Selman arrived in Philadelphia in 1844.