Hillman is a very ordinary surname, or so it would seem at first appearance – an ordinary “English” name derived from an everyday living site on or near a hill at some time in the dim and distant past. The name came to be associated with a particular line of English motor cars in the minds of people alive in the 20^th century, but other than that there was little of earth-shattering importance linked to anyone called Hillman.

Dig a little deeper, look more widely in the world, apply a little science, make use of the incredible power of the internet and the information retrieval now possible, and a somewhat more complex and interesting picture emerges. We shall never know the full story – he or she who was first identified with the Hillman family label has long gone and left no records as to why or where this occurred. In all probability it is a surname of multiple origins, and not simply descended from a single progenitor in one place. All we can do now is to record all we can find, push backwards in time, and surmise as to what it is all pointing to as to our origins.

1.1 Surnames generally

In England surnames came into use amongst the gentry in about the 11^th C, but were not in general use until about the 13^th C. From the table below, it can be seen that this is soon after the Norman invasion and settlement of England, and not long after the lengthy infusion of Anglo-Saxon immigrants. Communal memories are quite long, and prior to the general knowledge of handwriting and the keeping of written records, knowledge of forebears would have been handed down by word of mouth through the generations. Thus, earlier origins and derivations of people might well have been incorporated into the adoption of a surname.

The Venerable Bede in his “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” in 731, stated simply that the Anglo-Saxons came from the three most powerful Germanic tribes – the Saxons, Angles and Jutes[1]:

The Jutes peopled Kent and the Isle of Wight, and that part of the Kingdom of Wessex opposite the Isle of Wight
The Saxons (from Saxony) peopled the areas known as the East, the West and the South Saxons; the South Saxon area was clearly what we know as “Sussex” today
The Angles (from between Saxony and Danmark) peopled the areas known as the East Angles, the Middle Angles, the Mercians, and Northumbria.

He qualified this later stating that the Anglo-Saxons originated from the peoples of Germania (much of northern Europe), namely the Frisians, Rugians, Danes, Huns, Old Saxons and Boructuari (Franks).

The Anglo-Saxon language is now called Old English, derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for their language “Englisc”. The Norman invasion added an additional layer of vocabulary.

Table 1 Significant immigration events into England[2]

Names of Scandinavian origin were more common in the north of England where most Vikings settled.

Inherited surnames adopted after the Norman invasion of circa 1066, originally for noble families, later spread to more widespread use. Whilst the simple name Hill is 27^th in the list of the 50 most frequent surnames of England and Wales, but neither Hillman, nor Illman appear in the most frequent 500 – Hillman is ranked 1,484^th with just 5,377 records according to one source[3] for surnames of England and Wales.

It is undoubtedly of significance that the name Hillman is still present today in a broad range of European countries, but especially so that these are all within the “Germanic” arc – Scandinavia, through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, to the United Kingdom. While it is not certain that all occurrences in these areas represent the “original” evolution of the surname, it is more likely to have developed in these areas, than in any places populated much more recently by western Europeans (North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa). The use of fixed surnames, used by all descendants of a particular bloodline, is relatively recent in all societies. Hillman evolved as a surname in Europe, so the following comments refer to the development of surnames in Europe generally.

The richer classes – the gentry and the nobility – acquired surnames earlier than the poorer labourers and peasants in Europe as a whole. Similarly, they were acquired earlier in urban than in rural areas. These factors are almost certainly associated with the development of bureaucracies – it was necessary to label people in order to manage them. Prior to the 11^th century surnames were not in general use, but by the 13^th century they were in wide use in Britain and France for example[4].

Prior to this people were “labelled” in a number of ways:

Occupational – what a person did – “John the baker”, “John who works for the blacksmith”,
Patronymic – relating to their parentage – “John son of James”,
Toponymic, or Topographic – relating to where a person lived – “John from by the hill”
Locative, Locational – named for the place name they came from, or where they lived – “John of the Bridge”, “John from Kings Town”

It can easily be seen how most surnames developed from such labels once the habit of fixing a surname – inheriting it usually from the father in England – appeared in the 11^th to 13^th centuries. In Britain this happened earlier in the urbanised south, spreading further north with time and the development of industries in the Midlands.

Written records and languages were both still developing and evolving as well, thus variation also appeared in surnames, dependent upon the whims and standards the recorders used, especially between different areas.

1.2 The Origins of the name Hillman

The name “Hillman” – simply spelled, and with a few variations, including Hilman, Illman and the older form Hyllman is seen by most authors and surname researchers as a toponymic or locative family name, originally based upon a person dwelling (or maybe working) in, on, or under (i.e. in close proximity to) a hill. It is seen to be derived from the Middle English hille – hill, or helde – slope[5]. Thus, Heldman could be seen as included in the surname variants.

Before surnames became fixed, a man’s “moniker” could well have changed when he moved home or changed occupation – “atte Hylle” becoming “atte Brydgge” for example – so the earliest examples found may well not have been founding members of the Hillman “tribe”.

Research I have carried out over the past several decades suggest there could be alternative explanations, and that the name almost certainly has several varied origins.

**However……… Hillman or Illman?**

For example, studying my own line of Hillman in the Church Registers at West Grinstead where they lived in Sussex at various times from around 1700 or earlier and 1895, the name is recorded variously as Illman in the early days, then Hillman later. The name also exists with one or two “l”s. The change occurs over a period in the 1700s with some children in the same family recorded as either Illman or Hillman. Thomas Illman, baptised in 1725, was recorded instead in the Bishop’s Transcript as Hillman.

It would seem from the records, that rather than being a simple case of dropping the letter “aitch” from the start of the word, it has instead been added later in time as being perhaps more correct – or perhaps “genteel”? We have to keep in mind that at this time few of the countrymen had received education so could neither read nor write, so they depended upon the clergyman or church clerk with additional education and skills to record the name. The name was probably recorded phonetically at first, then later based upon the locally accepted way of spelling. Hillmans in the area I have studied most in West Sussex were simply agricultural labourers, or “Ag Labs” as they came to be labelled in the 19^th C Censuses, and almost certainly illiterate. Many of them simply “made their mark” when a signature was required on a church certificate.

These two forms of Illman and Hillman have persisted to this day, and not only in the UK. Hillman generally now far outnumbers Illman with few exceptions.

Taking information from the UK Census results (Figure 1) it can be seen that since 1841 the numbers of Hillmans have continued to rise steadily over the 80 years (214% increase), while the absolute numbers of Illmans have stayed relatively low, although they have also increased (147% increase).

Figure 1 Hillman and Illman in the UK Census 1841-1911

Figure 2 Earliest & latest date record for Illman-Hillman in Sussex parishes (grey bars for Illman records, Hillman earliest date starred)

Using information from the parish registers at a more local level in the county of Sussex the gradual change from the use of the spelling Illman to Hillman can be seen (Figure 2). Generally speaking, in most parishes the name Illman appears to fall into disuse in around 1800. The earliest Hillman record is at Steyning in 1567. Hillman becomes more common from the mid-1600s onwards. It has to be accepted that in the transcription process, a transcriber may have used their own interpretation of the record and written Hillman rather than Illman. It has not been possible to go back and examine every original document.

But dig more deeply and various other possible variants, or associated family names suggest themselves. A full list of the family names occurring in the UK that could be related in some way would include the following:

Table 2 Possible variants or origins for Hillman in the UK

This list is by no means exhaustive, and others will be mentioned as we progress.

A Dictionary of Surnames⁵. This provides a host of other possible origins, including the various forms of Hillman as offshoots from the name Hill. In addition to the origin from the OE (old English) hyll for a hill, also mentioned are these possible origins, including “imports” through immigration from Europe[6]:

A shortened form of the name of Hilary (can be male or female), meaning cheerful, propitious or joyful in Greek and Latin;
English Hell, Hull, Heller, Hiller, Hillam (OE dative plural of hyllum); hille (OE English dative singular of hylle);
The name of a place Hill in Yorkshire West Riding;
The Germanic hild for battle or strife;
German Hiegel (Alsace), Hügel, Hügelmann, Hüggel, Hüggelmann, Hügler;
Low German Heuvel, Hiebel, Hiebl, Höbel, Hövel, Hübel, Hibler, Hiebler, Hübler; and Hillemans, Hillen;
Low German derivative of Hildebrand – hild + battle + flaming sword;
Dutch van Heuvel;
Flemish Heuvelman, van den Heuvel, van Hille, van Hulle;
Ashkenazic Jewish from various similar sounding Jewish names, including Hillman;
And from Hillman, Hills, Hille, Hillemann, Hillmann, and Hilmann,

In contrast, Mike Hillman of Texas, USA (pers. comm.), who has traced his German antecedents, has noted that the present-day languages from the North European area would appear to provide little guidance, if – and it is a big if – the name is a simple “toponymic” (named after a topographical feature – like a hill).

Mike Hillman notes that of these words, only the Swedish “kulle” (or the German “hugel”?) would have much possibility of evolving into the present-day English word “hill”.

Referring to Kate Monk’s “Oenimastikon”[7] the name Hyll was not found as part of any surname in Scandinavia or Germany!

The possibilities are seemingly infinite, and the truth will not be known in the absence of detailed evolution of the recording of people’s names over time, one form evolving into the next. These records just simply do not exist.

To determine which names to include in this Hillman One Name Study, and which are truly associated with, or precursors of the present-day Hillman, required looking at the evolution of surnames over time, and geographically, both within Britain, and beyond.

Early documents from the Norfolk, Oxford and Cambridge areas record the Latinised family name of “ad Montem (alias Hillman)”. In Devon a single family tree succession progresses from “uppe Hill”, through “atte Hill” to “Hillman” over a few generations. These will be examined in more detail below (see the ad Montem, atte Hill and uppe Hill sections).

We also need to keep in mind the evolution of language, writing, spelling and local dialects and preferences. The “Great Vowel Shift” was a major change in pronunciation between Old English and Modern English that occurred in the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th centuries[8]. It has been suggested that the possible variants of Hillman that are based upon the first vowel, may well be dependent upon local characteristics – Hallman, Hellman, Hillman, Hollman and Hullman – and variations on these could be simply local[9]. This can also be examined through the later Census records, and by mapping records from different areas.

The old English word “hyll” (modern hill) was spelled variously in written records in the 10^th and 11^th C as “hill” in Northumbria, and most of the East Midlands. In around 900 in Kent, the “hell” form predominated, together with Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire by the end of the 11^th C. In the West-Midlands and the South-West “hull” was the main form recorded. The potential existed therefore for the records of a number of variants of the name Hillman referring to someone who dwelt in some relationship to a geographical hill using these different forms – thus Hallman, Hellman, Hillman, Hollman and Hullman⁹.

The word hyll is Anglo-Saxon in origin and would have appeared along with those peoples as they moved into England from mainland Europe in the 5^th and 6^th centuries (Table 1³). The Angels came from the Angel area, and the Saxons similarly from Saxony, both in present day Germany.

Thus, the potential existed for the development of the name Hillman with a geographical feature basis on mainland Europe and in England well before the adoption of fixed surnames.

Examination of the Anglo-Saxon language however, provides a number of other possibilities as a source of the name, which given the frequent allusion in the literature to military connections (see later), may also be plausible origins.

Table 3 Relevant Anglo-Saxon terms[10]

It is not readily evident how any of these words – apart from hill and hyll – might provide an origin for the name Hillman, unless there were some military connection. This will be explored later where Scandinavian countries are discussed.

The question is then – did the 18^th century addition of an initial “H” indicate that Illman still related to a geographical hill location, and/or a person called Hill, or was there also an origin for Illman that had nothing to do with hills – topographical or otherwise, but perhaps military? Or both?

There is almost certainly a link in the pronunciation of the initial letter “H” in Latin, which was of course the language of the church and in legal documents. It would appear that at times the initial letter “H” in a word was silent in several Romance and early European languages[11] and this would seem to be the real reason for the two forms – churchmen with varying ideas of how to record phonetically what they were being informed about. Apparently today some 24% of “English” people called the letter “H” “haitch” while the majority call it simply “aitch”. The debate continues, but most of us would now seem to be aspirated “Hillman” rather than un-aspirated “Illman”! There are definite social aspects to the use of an initial “H” in spoken and recorded English, the term “over-correction” referring to what would appear to be more formally, or socially, superior uses[12]

1.3 Earliest Records

The earliest records of the name in the British Isles would appear to be in the ancient Roll records in various places in England, if one accepts the varied spellings as being potential origins for the surname⁴ .

William Huleman from Co. Huntingdonshire
William Heleman from Co. Devon
William Helman is listed in the “Rotuli Hundredorum” of Essex in 1274
John Hildman is mentioned in the “Subsidy Roll” of Yorkshire in 1327

These locations are already quite widely dispersed in southern and central England, and where the name originated before that is not known as yet. It is very likely that it developed in a number of locations, from either a simple geographical origin, and/or from sources in Scandinavia or on the mainland European Continent (see below).

In “1331 Alice, Juliana and Agnes, daughters of Michael atte Hill, received a messuage and 60 acres of land in Warnham”[13]. Warnham is only 3.5 km NNW of Horsham, therefore close to the West Grinstead area.

I am indebted to David John Hillman (pers. comm.), researching the name in Cornwall, for his alert to the earliest use of the name Hilman he has found. In 1444 Rogero and Juliane (Gillian) Hilman were granted land at Waymeton (Whimington), Nytherhille, Samford Spinney, Cornwall.

Figure 3 1841 UK Census – Hillman, actual numbers by county

Figure 4 1841 UK Census – Illman, actual numbers by county

The simple topographical origin of the name would seem the most plausible, until one notes that in the case of my own family the evolution of the name from Illman to Hillman (and not the other way around) is clear in written records in the late 18^th century in Sussex, UK. The name Hillman at the time of the 1841 census for which all records are easily available, is strongly represented in Sussex, Devon, Somerset, London and Gloucestershire (Figure 3), while Illman is fairly strictly confined in relatively low numbers to the counties of Sussex and Surrey, with some occurrence nearby in Kent, Berkshire and London (Figure 4).

It is evident that in England by 1841 the name Hillman was already fairly well distributed (Figure 1), either though movement, or from multiple developments of the family name related to a person’s residential or work location near a hill.

Were these areas where English pronunciation dropped aitches, that were later added as written records became more commonplace – a case of ecclesiastical snobbery on the part of clerics and their clerks keeping the parish records at the time in this area? The use of the name Hillman with an “H” elsewhere in England pre-dates this period by at least 400 years (Hilman in Cornwall in 1444 – David John Hillman, pers. comm.). This would seem to be the easiest and simplest explanation – that a hill in these areas was pronounced “Ill”, a “hillman” so-called for whatever reasons was thus an “Illman” until such time as the recorder decided adding an “H” at the front would be more genteel, and Illman as a name survived thereafter in but a few people and families (see later). Similarly, the existence of the rare early form as Ylman was probably pronounced to sound the same as Illman.

The church of St Mary the Virgin, at Yatton, near Congresbury, Somerset, has a complete record of the Church Wardens from 1445 to the present. There are no fewer than 15 terms of service by men of the family Hillman over a 300-year period (1446-1748). The surname is recorded as follows:

1446 – 1447 Hullman
1447 – 1448 Hyllman
1448 – 1450 Hylman
1464 Hillman
1491 – 1492 Hilman
1507 – 1539 Hylman
1700 – 1748 Hillman

There is no clear succession of one spelling leading to the next. Neither was the form Illman recorded. Again, the personal preference or foibles of the recorder would seem to be the determinant (information from Allan Attwood & Elizabeth Cullen, 2005, pers. comm.).

Similar reasons may exist where immigrants were recorded on arrival, and either the recorder, or the immigrant him/herself decided on a different spelling. This is known to have occurred for example with immigrants to what is now the USA.

1.4 Multiple Origins

It is evident from the geographical spread of the surname and its likely origin as a topographic surname, that there are probably multiple origins for the name, which may or may not have a topographical feature in common. Details and sources for other countries are discussed in the following sections for each country.

Making use of Google’s search mechanism and searching for each of a large number of possible variants, then recording the total hits reached in an initial search, the following results are obtained (Figure 5).

Figure 5 Search results from Google for variant occurrences worldwide

This indicates that the forms Holman and Ilman, followed by Hillman and Hellman are the most common all with over 250,000 “hits” worldwide, with almost all others scoring low rates, apart from Hallman at around 10,000.

Similarly, by the same measure searching just in the UK, the same four variants top the hit rate, but with Hillman higher than Holman, at around 30,000 hits each, and Hellman and Ilman considerably lower than the other two (Figure 6) at around only 5,000 hits each.

Figure 6 Search results from Google for variants in the UK only

A similar exercise searching the National Archives website for the four apparently related main name variants within the UK only, produces a total of 1,195 occurrences for the names Hillman, Illman, atte Hill and uppe Hill. Hillman forms 84% of these, Illman 14%, atte Hill under 2% and uppe Hill less than 0.3% Mapping the dates of the occurrence of these names produces an interesting timeline (Figure 7).

Figure 7 Time spans for the occurrence of Hillman variants at the National Archives[14]

These suggest a progression from ad Montem 12-13^th C, through atte Hill and uppe Hill 13-17^th C, to Illman and Hillman from the 16^th C onwards.

The name Hillman as a surname can be found today in the following countries, and there may be others not noted here (Table 4). A primary source has been considered as a country where the name has evolved locally, or through historical movements of people; a secondary occurrence is considered as a country where major immigration from primary source countries has occurred in the recent past five or six centuries; a tertiary occurrence is considered to have been re-emigration from a secondary occurrence. South American countries and those in Israel stem mainly from USA origins, while the single occurrence in Portugal on the Algarve almost certainly stems from Germany or the UK.

Table 4 Countries where the family name Hillman occurs

The occurrence of the name Hillman in Jewry is not included in the table above but is discussed later (see section 3.7).

It is possible that the surname Hillman originated in multiple instances from Old North German language group components over the area of what I term the Germanic arc – Scandinavia, and western European countries including Britain. There would appear to be three possibly distinct origins for the name by area:

The “Slavic” area – Russia, Poland and Eastern European countries;
The “Germanic” arc – Germany and Scandinavia (especially Finland and Sweden);
England – but with the Anglo-Saxon origins of many of its people this is probably firmly linked to the “Germanic” arc.

It is not clear at this juncture what links there may be between these three plausible origins if any, or whether any of them represent a common origin for the name? This requires skilled linguistic study as well as the movements of people in pre-historic times, and early history for which there are few recorded sources if any. DNA analysis should also assist in the process. My own recent DNA analysis records a 3% Scandinavian component – but is this linked to the Hillman name, or a maternal line of another name altogether?!

There are a considerable number of apparent international variants which may or may not have some common origins and could by their geographical distribution as surnames provide some clues. These have been grouped where the variants appear related (as recorded from the PRO, IGI and numerous other sources) and together with those indicated earlier are likely to include:

Ellman, Ellmann, Elman, Elmann
Gellman, Gellmann, Gelman
Gilman, Gilmann, Gillman, Gillmann
Hallman, Halman
Heleman, Helemann
Hellman, Hellmann, Helman, Helmann
Helmian
Hildebrand, Hildegard
Hildman, Hildmann, Hiltman, Hildmund
Hilger
Hileman
Hilghman
Hillman, Hillmann, Hilman, Hilmann
Hillmer
Huleman, Hullman
Hylman, Hyllmann
Illman, Ilman, Illmann
Jolmen
Ullman
Ylman, Yealmon, Yelmon

The forms marked in bold above I consider the principal related forms from research in the UK. (Generally Russian variants start with a G, German with an H).

The forms that include the term Hild or Helm – Hildman, Hildmann, Hildmund, Hiltman, Helman, Hemian – may well have originated in Germany and/or Scandinavia with an origin in a Soldier or Weapons-maker (as in the Hilt of a Sword, or Helm of a helmet). This is postulated to have entered the British Isles in the 13^th Century or even earlier by some commercial surname paraphernalia providers.

Hilghman is an unusual phonetic form that has persisted in the USA and has not been found anywhere else so far. It is still found in Wicomico/Somerset in Maryland where the name Hilghman was interchangeable with Hillman in Presbyterian and court records[15]. It appears in the Ellis Island immigrant records[16] (Family Search 2018), but with a USA birthplace suggesting it is a localised spelling variant in the USA.

In Scandinavia, where the use of fixed surnames did not supersede patronymics until about the 18^th century, one family is known to have taken its name from the town of Hille, near Gavle, In Sweden (see the Sweden account here). In Swedish Hille also refers to the sword and/or halberd carried by a soldier in battle.

Another account refers to a Swedish ancestor changing his name on arrival to Hillman: “Klaes Hellman, or ‘Far Far’ as I always called my grandfather Hillman (Far Far means ‘father’s father’ in Swedish), immigrated to America on March 16, 1900 at nineteen years of age. When Far Far arrived in America, he discovered that ‘hell’ had a bad connotation, and so he changed his name to Hillman”[17].

In Finland, it is thought, but yet to be corroborated, that the use of Hillman as a surname may have denoted descendancy from soldiers in the early 17^th C who came from either Sweden or even the British Isles (Perttu Mikael Hillman, 2003 pers. comm.).

Similarly Hell in Old North Germanic languages (that include German, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, but not Finnish) means clear, but also light or fair-skinned or fair-haired. Are there also links back to incoming soldiery or people from the far north who were also light-complexioned and flaxen-haired?

It is clear that the form with no ‘H’ – Illman and Ilman – can be traced to evolve into – and possibly also from – Hillman and Hilman respectively within the same families in written records in the southern Counties of the British Isles (Sussex especially – see distribution later under the Hillman British Isles section).

A similar geographical origin in Scandinavia may be assumed in the occurrence of Hyllmann relating to a hill?, and with relation to the town of Hille.

1.5 Primary and secondary sources for the name

Just to complicate matters, people have moved in Europe between areas and countries for a variety of reasons throughout recorded history, and before. This has resulted in the adoption of words from one language group into another, of one group adopting the naming practices of another, and the appearance of surnames from one area into another as people moved around. England and the British Isles as we know them today have been no exception to this, with the various influxes of Picts, Celts, Angels, Saxons, Romans, Vikings, Normans, Huguenots and so on continuing to the present day (see Table 1).

Naomi Riches[18] in her book about Norfolk makes mention of the Dutch incomers in the 14^th C as weavers of worsted and the family and place names they introduced to that area in the process. This could have been one possible avenue for the name Hillman to be introduced. She also mentions the editor of an early book on agriculture in Norfolk called David Hillman, of a family associated with Norfolk in 1710. The list of family names she mentions includes names such as Herden and Halgman – not too far removed from Hillman?

There have also been movements within the British Isles caused through internecine strife, and more recently through the regional development of industries requiring labour or specialised skills, to which people then moved from other locations from the 19^th C.

The result of these movements of people with their names is that we have primary and secondary sources for the name – primary the place where we think a name developed, and secondary the places it has then moved to. This is explored later with a world map indicating where the “Hillmen” originated, and where they have moved since.

So, while we may think of Hillman as an “English” surname, I like to think and hope to show that it is far from that, and almost certainly of complex and multiple origins.

1.6 Worldwide Distribution of the name Hillman

Plotting the distribution of available Hillman addresses by country on a world map, produced the pattern shown below (Fig.1). The data is mainly from Burke’s “World Book of Hillmans”[19] not a particularly well-researched document but that has some useful lists of the numbers of Hillmans in different countries). The value of the density classes as indicators of relative density depends upon the systematic thoroughness of the Burke’s data collection which is unknown.

Figure 8 Relative density of Hillmans worldwide & postulated movements (Burke’s Peerage, 1996)

The information available suggests that the primary sources of the name are all in Europe, but apparently at a low relative density except for the UK. The secondary distribution has been to the remaining countries in North and South America, Australasia, Israel and South Africa, linked to European emigration over the past 4-500 years, as well as the Jewish Diaspora from some European countries, especially during and after the 2^nd World War. Tertiary distribution occurred especially from the USA to a number of South America countries and to Israel.

Approximate movements are indicated by the lines and arrows – black for initial dispersal, and red for secondary. These have been based upon known origins of various Hillman correspondents’ ancestors.

Taking advantage of the International Genealogical Index, now Family Search[20], it is possible to obtain some approximations of the distribution and frequency of the different forms of Hillman internationally (Table 5). Hillman was the major form (51%), followed by Illman (32%). Both Ilman and Hylman had significant occurrences. These proportions are very different to those recorded in the 1881 UK Census for example, where Hillman is 91%, and Illman is less than 10% of the overall Hillman count.

Table 5 Results of a simple search for Hillman variants on Family Search (2011)

It is apparent from comparison with the 1881 UK Census for example, that the Family Search data was far from being comprehensive (at the time). However, it does give some idea of the relative proportions in different countries.

It is evident that the older forms of Illman and Hyllman are well-represented in secondary locations that received immigrants at some time in the past – USA, Australia and Peru. As with the evolution of the English language in those places, it is apparent that the older form of words has persisted far longer than in England, the source of the words and the immigrants. More recent secondary immigration recipients have far fewer of the older forms of the name.

However, this data is only relative, and I am well aware that the Family Search data for England for example is not borne out by the more statistically complete data from the 1881 Census where Hillman outnumbers Illman at approximately 10:1.

Just looking at the name Hillman worldwide, Forbears.co.uk[21] (2019) produces the following results for different variants and countries (Table 6):

Table 6 Worldwide numbers of Hillman by nation (Forbears.co.uk) – major regions alternately shaded

These results have been grouped into major regions – offshore western Europe (UK and Ireland), Scandinavia, west central Europe, and Eastern Europe – all of which are likely to be primary sources for the name.

The other regions represent recent secondary dispersal of the name within the last five hundred years – to Australia and New Zealand, North America, and southern Africa.

Finally, Central and South American countries where the name is probably tertiary in nature, having come from the USA in particular.

In addition to the countries mentioned in Table 6, one or more variants were recorded in a further 60 countries. These have been excluded on the basis of very low numbers (one or a few records in only one or a few countries), or the likelihood that the records are unrelated to the European origin of the name Hillman and variants under study. These include the surprisingly high number of 2,023 records for Ilman in Indonesia, as well as much lower numbers for the same name in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, India, Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Also, yet to be explained is the record of 14 Hillmans in Indonesia, and another 58 in Singapore.

Ten of the variants exist in the USA, compared with only six in the UK, and four in Germany – the countries with the highest overall numbers. This supports the USA being a recipient of immigrants from a broad range of sources, and the possible generation and retention of unusual spellings for the name – Hilghman, Hylman and Hylmann for example only occur currently in the USA.

The worldwide total of just over 32,000 Hillman people is increased to over 44,000 when variants are included.

The data does bear out the fact that the family name Hillman is not just English – from England that is. In primary terms it is well-represented in Scandinavia, and in north-western and north-eastern Europe (Table 7). The situation represents one either – of multiple origins for the name, with little inter-relationship – or a very ancient origin that has spread across the continent. I suggest the multiple origin is the more likely, and that further detailed research beyond the UK and making use of DNA analysis may bring more light to bear on the true picture.

1.7 Alias names in England

Another possible source of the name became evident during my research. Ancient documents existed where the surname Hillman was recorded as an alias – either in brackets after the name or prefixed by the word alias. These include – ad Montem, atte Hylle, uppe Hylle, and forms of Hasselynge or Hasseling.

At this stage it is worth noting the complicating issue of “alias” names. In the study of the Historical use of Aliases in the United Kingdom[22] the author suggested the following:

These may indicate a change in the spelling of a name in order to link the new form to the earlier one. Also, it may have been a means of linking a man to his father, or grandfather or earlier ancestor. In 1646, a genealogist/curate in Yorkshire wrote “surnames are just settling into common usage in this section of rural Yorkshire, and parish records contain many alias names“.

Thus “Haselyng alias Hillman” could be interpreted in a number of ways (see the Haselyng section). However, it is also known that they can indicate bastardy, the alias name referring to the surname of the identified father of the illegitimate child, or with reference to a stepfather[23].

Summary

In summary the origins of the name can be broadly seen as follows (Figure 9), but require much more and detailed linguistic, distribution and genetic research for full corroboration. It would however seem clear that Hillman as a surname seen today has developed from a number of origins, whose details may never be fully known.

Figure 9 Possible etymology of the family name Hillman

Nothing is set in stone, names evolve along with linguistics, data recording systems, human migration and other factors. While I was at an early stage in my research surprised to find the change from Illman to Hillman in West Sussex, I now realise that this is nothing extraordinary, and many other variations can be considered within the name group. Similar variations in spelling have been noted in other family names, that have later adopted a fixed spelling:

The name in England could have originated from the village of Upphill, near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset.
It could have come in from Europe as refugees and skilled labourers immigrated to England in the past.
It could have denoted people in Sweden who lived in or near the settlement of Hille.
It might denote a person who lived in, or, or in the vicinity of a hill, enabling him to be identified from other similarly fore-named people (John-of-the-Hill).
It might have developed from the family name Hill, which also probably had a topographical origin.
There might have been some relationship with hazel copses – being on or near hills (Hasselyng).
The name may have military connotations relating to weapons and/or armour (Held, Hilt, Hild).
It also may have in some cases origins in Jewish family names that have changed as they moved across Europe and into England and other countries.
In other parts of the world, notably Scandinavia and other countries of western Europe, it may also have evolved from military or topographic bases, Jewish names, or occupational connotations (Helpfman).

A collation of the various forms over time in England from a wide variety of sources[24], suggests a time frame for their use and evolution (Figure 10).

Figure 10 The temporal range of various forms of the family name Hillman England (from numerous sources)

These and other deliberations will be considered in further sections here.

Sources

[1] Venerable Bede, The. 731. “Ecclesiastical History of the English People”.

[2] Magnusson, Magnus. 1980. “Vikings!” British Broadcasting Corporation/The Bodley Head, London, UK. 320pp

[3] Callaghan, Nigel. Jun 2019. Surnames of England and Wales – the ONS list. Technoleg Taliesin Cyf. http://www.taliesin-arlein.net/names/search.php

⁵ Hanks P. & Hodges F. 1988. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford, UK. 826 pp ; Hanks, Patrick, Richard Coates & Peter McClure. 2016. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press.

[6] Hill, Daniel & Hill Courtney, Anita. 2002. Hill Surname Origins & Heraldry. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hillsofsalem/heraldry.html

[7] Monk, Kate. 2005. Oenomastikon – Dictionary of Names www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/England-Saxon/index.htm

[8] The History of English. https://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/history_early_modern.html

[9] Fisiak, J. 1997. OE hyll in the East Midlands in Early Middle English. p. 86-99 In: Language in time and space: studies in honour of Wolfgang Vierek on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Franz Steiner Verlag, 1997 – 510 pages

[10] Hall, Clark. 1916. A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd Ed. www.ling.upenn.edu/~kuristo/germanic/oe_clarkhall_about

[11] “H” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H

[12] Clary, Todd. 2014. Classical Latin’s Complicated Relationship with Aitch. http://www.carmentablog.com/2014/09/30/classical-latins-complicated-relationship-aitch/

[13] Villiers, R.A. 1977-8. The early history of Warnham. Warnham Historical Society, Warnham, Sussex.

[14] National Archives search. 2010. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=Hillman

[15] Paul Morris, GenForum. 2001. https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/hillman/594/

[16] Ellis Island Foundation Immigrant Records. 2019. https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/passenger-result#

[17] Jones, Barbara Ann Hillman. 2009. Recollections of a Jamestown Swede. Jamestown, USA. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MaWOAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT97&lpg=PT97&dq=Hillman+surname+in+sweden&source=bl&ots=EtXoSuOrhp&sig=O8XBebfBqdCvd4vrImLIn5xYyi8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiG6v_Op9HMAhVLlxoKHbefDbcQ6AEISzAH#v=onepage&q=Hillman%20surname%20in%20sweden&f=false

[18] Riches, Naomi. 1937. The Agricultural Revolution in Norfolk. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press.

[19] Burke’s Peerage. 1996 “World Book of Hillmans”. Halbert’s Family Heritage, Burke’s Peerage, Bath, OH, USA.

[20] Family Search (previously International Genealogical Index, IGI) https://www.familysearch.org/search/

[21] Forbears.co.uk. 2019. https://forebears.io/surnames/hillman

[22] Family Search. 2015. The Historical use of Aliases in the United Kingdom. Wiki. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Use_of_Aliases_-_an_Overview

[23] Hey, D. 2000. Family Names and Family History. Hambledon and London.

[24] Family Origins Surname Records (FONS). 1998-2005. https://sites.google.com/site/davidbethellpalaeography/

The outline map of English counties is adapted from https://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=5596&lang=en and used with thanks