Shilling
A surname that usually began as a personal name or byname tied to the old English word for a shilling, a coin.
The #7,066 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 65,164 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is linked to the Old English personal name Scilling, which is recorded in early English sources and also appears in medieval spellings such as Scilling, Schilling, and Schelling. The name is commonly connected with the Old English word scilling, meaning a shilling, the monetary unit. Some 19th-century writers also note continental forms like Dutch Schelling and German Schilling, suggesting a broader Germanic naming pattern.
History
Early surname evidence appears in medieval England, and the name persisted in a variety of spellings. It also shows up in place-names such as Shillingford, which helped keep the surname in use. Because the form can overlap with related continental surnames, some branches may have more than one historical route into English records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The old English coin word behind this surname survived for centuries in everyday English and later became part of modern currency language in Britain long before decimalization.
From the historical record
“SHILDRICK for Sheldrake, q.v. SHILLING (Eng.) the A.-Sax, tiers, name Scilling, occurring e.g. in ' WidsiS,' 1. 207 ; found in the i3th-cent. Hundred-Rolls as Scilling, Schilling, Schelling, the last being the present-day Dutch form [f. the O.E. monetary unit scilling, m.] SHILLINGFORD (Eng.) Bel. to Shillingford…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)