STIRLAND
Stirland is a surname of English origin, falling within the Anglo‑Saxon tradition of locational names. The name is historically associated with the rural district of Westmorland in the north of England.
Its earliest known form appears in the medieval Domesday Book of 1086, where the place now known as Strickland was recorded as Stercaland. The element ster- derives from the Old English styr(i)c or steorc, meaning *bullock*, while -land denotes land or pasture. Consequently the placename can be understood as *pasture for bullocks*, a description of the agricultural character of the area.
During the Middle Ages, as people migrated in search of work, it was common for individuals to adopt the name of their former village as a means of identification. In the case of the Stirland family, this practice led to the spread of the surname beyond the boundaries of its original locale.
The earliest securely recorded spelling of the family name is Vchtred de Stirclanda, found in the Poll Tax Records of Westmorland (1193), made during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart (1189‑1199). The surname has also appeared in historical documents under the variations Strickland and Stryckland.
Other notable attestations include William de Strikeland, noted in the Westmorland Death Register of 1278, and Walter Stryland, who appeared as a witness in the Assize Court Rolls of London in 1442.
In the early modern period, the marriage of John Sterland and Anne Silcock took place on 15 December 1733 at St. Mary in the Marsh, Norwich. A further example of the surname is found in the christening of William, son of Robert and Ann Stirland, which occurred on 23 March 1779 at St. John's, Lancaster.
The heraldic badge most commonly associated with the Stirland line is a black shield charged with three silver escallops separated by a silver engrailed border. The crest above the shield consists of a bundle of green holly, fructed red, banded round the middle with a black and silver wreath. The family motto, given in French, reads A la volonte de Dieu, and translates into English as At the will of God.
Typical given names associated with the Stirland surname
Male
- Brian
- Carl
- Chris
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Mark
- Matthew
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Roger
Female
- Amy
- Elizabeth
- Hannah
- Helen
- Jacqueline
- Jane
- Jean
- Samantha
- Sarah
- Susan
How to communicate the surname Stirland in...
Braille
⠎⠞⠊⠗⠇⠁⠝⠙
Morse
...-...-..-...--.-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 855 people named Stirland in the UK. That makes it roughly the 8,353rd most common surname in Britain. Around 13 in a million people in Britain are named Stirland.
