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Walling History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Walling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

The Walling surname comes from the Anglo-Norman personal name Walweyn, the Old German forename Waldwin, or the Old English personal name Wealdwine, which means power-friend. 1

Early Origins of the Walling family

The surname Walling was first found in Pembrokeshire (Welsh: Sir Benfro), a county in south-west Wales, anciently part of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth, where the family claim descent from Gualgnain or Gwalwynne, who was King Arthur's sister's son, as attested by historians William of Malmesbury, and Robert of Gloucester. The name traces its roots to Normandy where Geoffry Wawein was listed there in 1198. 2

The Domesday Book lists the name as Walduinus in Staffordshire. 1 Later in 1205, Welwin was listed in Essex.

John Wallensis, Walensis or Galensis (fl. 1215) was a Welsh canon lawyer who taught at Bologna, and wrote glosses and another John Wallensis or Waleys (fl. 1283), was a Franciscan, described as 'of Worcester' in a manuscript of his 'Summa Collectionum' at Peterhouse. 3

Thomas Wallensis or Gualensis (d. 1255), was a Welsh divine, Bishop of St. David's, former a canon of Lincoln in 1235. 3

Early History of the Walling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Walling research. Another 140 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1336, 1342, 1343, 1379, 1389, 1600, 1647 and 1681 are included under the topic Early Walling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Walling Spelling Variations

Welsh surnames are relatively few in number, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. There are many factors that explain the preponderance of Welsh variants, but the earliest is found during the Middle Ages when Welsh surnames came into use. Scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, which often resulted in a single person's name being inconsistently recorded over his lifetime. The transliteration of Welsh names into English also accounts for many of the spelling variations: the unique Brythonic Celtic language of the Welsh had many sounds the English language was incapable of accurately reproducing. It was also common for members of a same surname to change their names slightly, in order to signify a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations. For all of these reasons, the many spelling variations of particular Welsh names are very important. The surname Walling has occasionally been spelled Walwyn, Wallwyn, Wallin, Walwin and others.

Early Notables of the Walling family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Richard Walwayn, High Sheriff of Herefordshire (1336-1342), John Walwayn, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1343; John Walwayne, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1379; Sir Malcolm Walwyn of Ledbury and William Walwyn (c. 1600-1681), an English...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Walling Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Walling Ranking

In the United States, the name Walling is the 3,078^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 4

Walling migration to the United States +

In the 1800s and 1900s, many Welsh families left for North America, in search of land, work, and freedom. Those who made the trip successfully helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and the cultural heritage of both Canada and the United States. In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Walling

Walling Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jonathan Walling, who landed in New Jersey in 1687 5

Walling Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Simon Walling, who arrived in America in 1783 5

Walling Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Cath Walling, who arrived in North America in 1832-1849 5
Jesse Walling, who landed in Texas in 1835 5
John Walling, who arrived in Texas in 1835 5
Everett Walling, aged 19, who immigrated to the United States, in 1894
J. W. Walling, aged 46, who immigrated to the United States from Brazil, in 1897

Walling Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

George Walling, aged 50, who landed in America from London, in 1900
Frank Walling, aged 28, who settled in America from Plymouth, England, in 1904
Clifford Walling, aged 23, who settled in America, in 1907
Joseph Walling, aged 56, who settled in America, in 1908
Bessie Walling, aged 37, who landed in America, in 1909
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Walling migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Walling Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

H. Clayton Walling, aged 27, who settled in Ottawa, Ont., in 1907

Contemporary Notables of the name Walling (post 1700) +

Esther K. Walling (b. 1940), American former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Lynne H. Walling, British professor of mathematics at University of Bristol, Fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2012
Ansel Tracy Walling (1824-1896), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio (1875-1877)
William English Walling (1877-1936), American labor reformer and Socialist Republican, founder of the National Women's Trade Union League in 1903, co-founder of the NAACP in 1909
Dayne Walling (b. 1974), American politician, 92nd Mayor of the City of Flint, Michigan (2009-)
Dennis Martin "Denny" Walling (b. 1954), American former Major League Baseball player who played from 1975 to 1992
William "Will" Walling (1872-1932), American actor of the silent era who appeared in 60 films between 1921 and 1932
Emory A. Walling, American Republican politician, Member of Pennsylvania State Senate 49th District, 1885-88; Justice of Pennsylvania State Supreme Court, 1917-32 6
Barbara Walling, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1984 6
Ansel Tracy Walling (1824-1896), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Ohio State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Ohio 12th District, 1875-77 6
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Walling 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: Drwy rynwedd gward
Motto Translation: In this cause I would bleed.

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html