Hamlin
Hamlin is usually treated as a Norman or English surname from a medieval personal name, though some sources also linked it to place-names.
The #2,150 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,300 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most historical surname dictionaries connect Hamlin to the medieval personal name Hamelin or Hameline, a diminutive form built from an older Germanic name element. In that view, the surname began as a patronymic, meaning essentially 'son of Hamelin' or 'descendant of Hamelin.' Some 19th-century writers also suggested a local origin from place-names in England or continental Europe, but that explanation is less consistently supported.
History
The name is recorded in England fairly early and appears in medieval and post-medieval spellings such as Hamlyn, Hamling, and Hamelin. In Cornwall and nearby areas, related forms were long established, which may have encouraged later local reinterpretations. The surname also spread to North America, where Hamlin became the standard modern form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The medieval personal name behind Hamlin is related to the same naming family that produced the surname Hamlet in some historical spellings and explanations.
From the historical record
“vincialism for a high constable. HAMLIN. HAMLING. See Hamlyn. HAMLYN. The ancient personal name, as Hameline Plantagenet, brother of Henry II. HAIMM. See Ham. HAIMMACK. HAMi\IICK. Devon- shire surnames, believed to be derived from the Teutonic personal name Almaric or Al- meric. In the Domesd. of Devonshire”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Hamlin
- Hannibal Hamlin (1809–1891)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.