Allen Genealogy and Allen Family History Information

history and origin

The Allen and Allan surname derives from aluinn, meaning fair or handsome. It also derives from the Gaelic and Breton personal name of the pre-Christian era Ailin which loosely translates as Little rock, although it may also mean harmony.

The Allan surname spelled with an "a" is generally considered to be associated with Scottish clans, including Clan Donald, Clan Grant, Clan MacFarlane and Clan MacKay. Spelled with an "e," however, the Allen surname is generally considered to be English in origin. However, a variety of names from a variety of regions might be anglicised as either Allen or Allan, so the name spelling may not point to your family's origin.

English and Scottish: from a Celtic personal name of great antiquity and obscurity. In England the personal name is now usually spelled Alan, the surname Allen; in Scotland the surname is more often Allan. Various suggestions have been put forward regarding its origin; the most plausible is that it originally meant ‘little rock'. Compare Gaelic ailín, diminutive of ail ‘rock'. The present-day frequency of the surname Allen in England and Ireland is partly accounted for by the popularity of the personal name among Breton followers of William the Conqueror, by whom it was imported first to Britain and then to Ireland. St. Alan(us) was a 5th-century bishop of Quimper, who was a cult figure in medieval Brittany. Another St. Al(l)an was a Cornish or Breton saint of the 6th century, to whom a church in Cornwall is dedicated.

sources

• http://genealogy.about.com/od/surname_meaning/p/allen.htm
• http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Allen

other versions of this surname

• Alen
• Aleyn
• Aleyne
• Allen-Philipps
• Alleyn
• Alleyne

other possible versions of this surname

• Allan
• Allin
• Alling
• Allyn
• Allyne

links

family of Pembrokeshiire

• https://stirnet.com/genie/data/british/aa/allen01.php (membership required in order to view without interruption)

family of Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Barbados

• https://stirnet.com/genie/data/british/aa/allen02.php (membership required in order to view without interruption)

family of Essex, Kent, Derbyshire, Devon and Middlesex

• https://stirnet.com/genie/data/british/aa/allen03.php (membership required in order to view without interruption)

family of County Dublin and County Kildare (includes the Viscounts Allen)

• https://stirnet.com/genie/data/british/aa/allen04.php (membership required in order to view without interruption)

family of Yorkshire

• https://stirnet.com/genie/data/british/aa/allen04.php#con1 (membership required in order to view without interruption)

family of County Kildare (includes Sir Thomas Alen, 1st Baronet)

• https://stirnet.com/genie/data/british/aa/allen05.php (membership required in order to view without interruption)