About Brain / Pilkington /Handyside Family Tree
Please sign in to see more. The two main names (my parents names) in my tree are Brain and Pilkington, these are closely followed by Handyside this being the branch I married into and the name my sons will carry on.
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.
Brain
Recorded in a number of spellings including Brain, Brane, Brayne, and Brayn, this interesting Anglo- Scottish surname has two possible origins. The first is locational from a village called Braine in Normandy, and as such was an introduction into England by followers of Duke William of Normandy, otherwise known as "The Conqueror", after his famous Invasion of 1066.
Alternatively, the name well recorded in Scotland from the mid 15th century, may be an anglicized form of the Olde Gaelic surname Mac an Bhreitheamham. Here the translation is "The son of the judge", from "Mac" meaning son of, plus the occupational word "breitheamh", a judge. The surname is well recorded in the charters known as the Hundred Rolls of various English counties from the latter half of the 13th Century. This suggests that these names must have origination from the Norman village, whilst in Scotland Thomas Brayne of Baldowy, a witness in 1462, is the first recorded Scottish namebearer, and David Brane appears in the "Book of the Thane of Cowder" in 1477. Other examples include: Roger Brain in the 1601 Scottish Commissariot register, whilst Elizabeth Brain and Philip Green were married at St. Bennet's church, Paul's Wharf, London, on October 15th 1634.
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alicia Brayn. This was dated 1273 in the Hundred Rolls of the county of Cambridgeshire, during the reign of King Edward Ist of England, 1272 - 1307.
There are approximately 6,337 people named Brain in the UK. That makes it the 1,665th most common surname overall. Out of every million people in the UK, approximately 100 are named Brain.
United Kingdom (current) 6337
United Kingdom (1881 census) 3212
Change since 1881 +3125
Pilkington
This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname deriving from the place called "Pilkington" near Prestwich in Lancashire. The placename is recorded as "Pulkinton" in 1202, as "Pilkenton" in the 1204 Pipe Rolls of Lancashire, and as "Pilkington" in the 1246 Assize Rolls of the county. The name means "the settlement of Pileca's people", derived form the Old English pre 7th Century personal name "Pileca", with the suffix "ing" indicating "people, family of", and "tun", settlement or village. Locational surnames were usually given to the lord of the manor, and to those former inhabitants of the place who moved to another area.
The development of the surname includes Pilkinton (1285, Cheshire) and Pylkyngton (1470, Yorkshire). "Pilkington" is the name of a landowning family traceable in the area around Salford to the 14th Century. The Will of Oliver Pilkington of Bolton, Lancashire, was recorded at Chester in 1594.
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alexander de Pilkington, which was dated 1205, Charters of Whalley Abbey, Lancashire, during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216.
There are approximately 9,071 people named Pilkington in the UK. That makes it the 1,165th most common surname overall. Out of every million people in the UK, approximately 144 are named Pilkington.
United Kingdom (current) 9071
United Kingdom (1881 census) 5381
Change since 1881 +3690
Handyside
Recorded in the spellings of Handasyde, Handyside, and Handaside, this famous Scottish Border surname is locational.
It derives from the lands of Handyside, (in the modern spelling) near Berwick. The precise translation of the surname is uncertain. The original spelling appears to be "Hanggansid", which is probably "the wooded lands on the hillside" or similar. The nameholders are not strictly a clan, however the chief holds the title of "all that Ilk", a terminolgy of equal status.
The original chiefs are first mentioned in charters at the end of the 14th century, John Hangandsyde, being a charter witness in relation to lands owned by the abbey of Kelso in 1399, the relationship between this abbey and the nameholders, being very close. In 1467 one Patone de Hangalsyde was a juror in regard to fishing licenses on the river Tweed, whilst in 1563, the chief, Richard Hangansyde of that Ilk, transferred lands in Berwickshire to his son Alexander. In 1567 it is recorded that Elizabeth Hangetsyde and Dandie Hanginsyde, who despite the variant spelling, seem to have been sisters, were tenants of the lands of Kelso Abbey. Charles Handasyde, who flourished in the mid 18th century, was regarded as one of the most successful minaure painters of his period.
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard de Hanggandside, which was dated 1398, in the barony of Bolden, Berwickshire, during the reign of King Robert 111 of Scotland, who reigned from the year 1390 to 1406.
There are approximately 170 people named Handyside in the UK. That makes it the 15,570th most common surname overall. Out of every million people in the UK, approximately 3 are named Handyside.
United Kingdom (current) 170
United Kingdom (1881 census) 422
Change since 1881 -252 |