Hamilton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Hamilton family name, was a Norman name that came to Scotland from England. It is thought to derive from the village of Hamilton or Hameldune near Barkby in the county of Leicestershire. The village name comes from the Old English elements “hamel,” which means “blunt,” “flat-topped,” or “crooked,” and “dun,” which means hill. There is a town of Hamilton near Glasgow, which took its name from the family, but may in turn have spawned more instances of the surname.

Early Origins of the Hamilton family

The surname Hamilton was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland, where they were granted lands by King Robert the Bruce of Scotland. 

The Clan traces its origin to the Earls of Mellent in Normandy who arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066 AD. They were granted lands in Hambleton in Buckinghamshire. Soon after, Sir William de Hambleton accepted a challenge from John de Spence. Spence was killed, drawing the wrath of King Edward II of England. Sir William fled northwards with his entourage to Scotland, hotly pursued by the king’s men. With their pursuers close behind them, Sir William and his servant exchanged clothes with two wood cutters and, using their saw, they cut down a large oak tree to bridge a river. Finally, when at last the tree fell, Sir William cried ‘through’ and they escaped across the river over the tree. The Clan Hamilton has retained this motto since that eventful day.

Early History of the Hamilton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hamilton research.

Hamilton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Hamilton, Hamelton, Hameldon, Hamildon, Hamylton, Hambleton and many more.

Early Notables of the Hamilton family (pre 1700)

Notable among the family at this time was Sir Patrick Hamilton (d. 1520), a Scottish nobleman, and younger brother of aforementioned James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran; his son, Patrick Hamilton (c.1504-1528), Scottish Protestant martyr, charged with heresy, sentenced by Archbishop Beaton, and burned at the stake in 1528; Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington (1563-1637), Scottish administrator, Lord Advocate, judge, and Lord Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire; Patrick Hamilton (c. 1575-1658), a minister of The Church of Scotland during a turbulent period in Scotland’s history, also a poet; Archibald Hamilton (1580-1659), the fourth Anglican Archbishop of Cashel, nominated Bishop of Killala.

Hamilton World Ranking

In the United States, the name Hamilton is the 103^rd most popular surname with an estimated 203,934 people with that name. [1] However, in Canada, the name Hamilton is ranked the 88^thmost popular surname with an estimated 29,834 people with that name. [2] And in Quebec, Canada, the name Hamilton is the 871^st popular surname. [3] Newfoundland, Canada ranks Hamilton as 729^th with 59 people. [4] Australia ranks Hamilton as 104^th with 25,498 people. [5]New Zealand ranks Hamilton as 122^nd with 3,683 people. [6] The United Kingdom ranks Hamilton as 113^rd with 43,260 people. [7]

 Migration of the Hamilton family to Ireland

Some of the Hamilton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.

 Hamilton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were: 

Hamilton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• David Hamilton, who settled in Boston in 1651
• Danl Hamilton, who landed in Virginia in 1652 [8]
• Andrew Hamilton (c. 1676-1741), was an early colonial lawyer (Scottish born), who became attorney general of Pennsylvania (1717)
• Andrew Hamilton, who arrived in America in 1685 [8]
• Mathew Hamilton, who settled in New England in 1685

Hamilton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• Cath Hamilton, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 [8]
• Alexander Hamilton, who arrived in Maryland in 1740 [8]
• Bell Hamilton, who landed in Maryland in 1747 [8]
• Archibald Hamilton, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1766 [8]
• Archie Hamilton, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1766 [8]

Hamilton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• James Hamilton, who arrived in America in 1805 [8]
• Elizabeth Hamilton, who landed in New York, NY in 1811 [8]
• Conway Hamilton, who landed in New York, NY in 1811 [8]
• Daniel Hamilton, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1811 [8]
• Edward Hamilton, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 [8]

Hamilton Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

• August Hamilton, who arrived in Arkansas in 1906 [8]

 Hamilton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were: 

Hamilton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

• John Hamilton, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749
• Mr. George Hamilton U.E. who settled in Carleton [Saint John City], New Brunswick c. 1784 [9]
• Mr. Gorham Hamilton U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 [9]
• Mr. James Hamilton U.E. who settled in St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 [9]
• Mr. John Hamilton U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 [9]

Hamilton Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

• David Hamilton, who arrived in Canada in 1820
• Elenor Donovan Hamilton, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1825
• James Hamilton, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig “Silestria” from Belfast, Ireland
• Eliza Hamilton, aged 18, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig “Silestria” from Belfast, Ireland
• Thomas Hamilton, aged 65, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the schooner “Sarah” from Belfast, Ireland

 Hamilton migration to Australia+

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include: 

Hamilton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Miss Elinor Hamilton, (Goff), (b. 1782), aged 31, Irish convict who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the “Catherine” on 8th December 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [10]
• Miss Ann Hamilton, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the “Broxbournebury” in January 1814, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [11]
• Mr. Job Hamilton, Canadian covict who was convicted in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada for life, transported aboard the “Atlas” on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [12]
• Miss Ann Hamilton, Irish country servant who was convicted in Antrim, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the “Canada” on 21st March 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia then transported on to Tasmania per “Elizabeth Henrietta” [13]
• Mr. James Hamilton, (b. 1800), aged 20, English clerk who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for fraud, transported aboard the “Earl St Vincent” on 6th April 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1838 [14]

 Hamilton migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include: 

Hamilton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

• Mrs. Hamilton, Australian settler travelling from Sydney aboard the ship “Delhi” arriving in Bay of Islands, New Zealand on 16th August 1840 [15]
• Child Hamilton, Australian settler travelling from Sydney aboard the ship “Delhi” arriving in Bay of Islands, New Zealand on 16th August 1840 [15]
• William Hamilton, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship “London” in 1842
• F Hamilton, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Barque Tuscan
• William Hamilton, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship London

Contemporary Notables of the name Hamilton (post 1700) +

• Alexander Hamilton (1755-1757), American Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury
• Saskia Hamilton (1967-2023), born Maria Saskia Hamilton, an American poet, editor, and professor and university administrator at Barnard College who published four collections of poetry, with a fifth, posthumous collection, All Souls, to be published in October 202
• Ronald Allen “Ron” Hamilton (1950-2023), known as “Patch the Pirate,” an American Christian singer, songwriter, composer, preacher, voice actor, and personality, president and owner of Majesty Music
• Jeffrey Alan “Jeff” Hamilton (1966-2023), American bronze medalist speed skier at the 1992 Winter Olympics
• F. Dianne Miller Hamilton (1934-2021), American politician who served as a Republican member of the New Mexico House of Representatives from 1999 to 2017
• Gilbert Van Tassel Hamilton (1877-1943), American physician and author of Introduction to Objective Psychopathology
• Jack Edwin Hamilton (1938-2018), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1962 to 1969
• Dorrance “Dodo” Hill Hamilton (1928-2017), American heiress of the Campbell Soup fortune and philanthropist
• Margaret Heafield Hamilton (b. 1936), née Heafield, an American computer scientist and systems engineer, Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which developed on-board flight software for the Apollo space program, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Dorothy Cann Hamilton (1949-2016), American chef, founder and CEO of the International Culinary Center