Hill Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Hill Family History

Hill Family History

The ancient origin of the name Hill was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Hill include Hillstead. This is a locality name meaning 'at the hill', from a person who lived beside a small mountain. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout the above islands. Examples of such are an Alan de Hill, of County Essex, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273 and a William de Hill who was a tenant of Telny, Scotland, in the year 1376. A Thomas del Hille, was recorded in the 'Poll Tax', of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the year 1379 and a Thomas Hill was baptised in Saint James, Clerkenwell, in the year 1580. A Walter Hill, County Devonshire, was recorded in the 'Testa de Neville', in the reign of Edward I. In Ireland the name is numerous in the Province of Ulster where it was introduced from England Centuries ago. The Hill family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Hill descendants.