Last name: Allan

This interesting name is of Celtic origin, and derives from a personal name of great antiquity. The name Alan, is thought to derive from the Gaelic "ailin", little rock, a diminutive of "ail", rock, and was introduced into England and later to Ireland by the Breton followers of William the Conqueror after 1066, among whom it was a very popular given name. One man in particular is credited with being the first of the name into England; Alan Fergeant, Count of Brittany and a companion of the Conqueror, and later first Earl of Richmond in Yorkshire. The personal name is recorded in its Latinized form of "Alanus" in the Domesday Book of 1086, although the surname is not recorded until the first half of the 13th Century (see below). The modern surname can be found in a variety of forms, including: Allen, Alen, Alleyn, Alleyne, Allain, Alan, Allan, Allin, Allon, Allans and FitzAlan. Recordings from London Church Registers include the christening of William Alleyne at St. Mary's, Whitechapel, on December 30th 1606. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey Alein, which was dated 1234, in the "Feet of Fines of Cambridgeshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Visitor Comments

alen
that was actully very nice 2 know

alen
my name is spelt the same way very vare indeed

Scoots Magoots
My last name is Allan, and i found out that my great grandpa was a general in the Scottish Army GENERAL ALLAN.

lewis
my surname is also allan maybe were related in someway

kaleb allan
my last name is allan to

lubna allan
my last name is allan, im arabic but an allan, had the weirdest conversation with my family today, and allan isnt arabic, have nooo idea where im from =/

Alejandro
Hi. My name is Alejandro Allan.( Allan as a last name) I am from Colombia and searching on the web I saw your old comment about how you were I little confused about your last name. I wanted to tell you that my case is almost the same. My grandmother used to say that its etymology was something arabic because of my grandfather. Any advance on your research?? Kind Regards

ali
im a allan too god its so nice lol

HiLda
My names last name is Allan and I'm a philipino

Kathryn Ross
Even though I am obviously biased (my maiden name is Allan) I always preffered that spelling, the others just look wrong to me lol Always thought this spelling was more Scottish too.

Nicola Gardener
My maiden name was Allan. I can trace my family from London in the 1780's to Bristol in the 1850's but don't know how we first came to be in London or why we eventually moved to Bristol?

Terry Allan
Hi Nicola, my family came from london to Bristol in 1860. They were clothiers and lived in Aldgate next to the tower of London from the mid 1700's to 1860. My gg grandfather William Allan's first wife died, he married a Bristol woman named Anne Eckley and she brought him west where her family were based.

Ben Allan
I am a Bristol Allan. Yay. Our family is originally from the Orkney islands in Scotland where I believe they were ship builders