The Shilling surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,738 people carried this name — #7,066 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 62,100 people counted. That is up 5% from 4,522 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Shilling surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Shilwin’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Henry de Scilling, Norfolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 685 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

30 families named Shilling, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 156 people lived in those households, 5.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Maryland 9
Maine 8
Pennsylvania 8
South Carolina 3
New York 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 261 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Shilling in American newspapers,
1852–1920.

Newspaper page from The Davenport Gazette carrying the name Shilling
The Davenport Gazette 1852-05-13
Newspaper page from The Philipsburg Mail carrying the name Shilling
The Philipsburg Mail 1889-04-11
Newspaper page from The Idaho Republican carrying the name Shilling
The Idaho Republican 1920-09-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 727 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shilling in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

5,308 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shilling. The most, 1,258, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,720
Victoria 1,564
Western Australia 991
Queensland 640
South Australia 235
Tasmania 112
ACT (Canberra) 28

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shilling.

Who carried it

People named Shilling,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Nikolai Shilling
    Nikolai Shilling 1870–1946 · military personnel
  • Beatrice Shilling
    Beatrice Shilling 1909–1990 · engineer
  • Beatrice Shilling
    Beatrice Shilling 1909–1990 · engineer
  • Alice Prettyman Shilling 1861–1934 · writer
  • Jim Shilling 1914–1986 · baseball player
  • Eric Shilling 1920–2006 · singer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Shilling,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States445 records

445 records of the Shilling name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 182
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 102
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 70
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 49
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 27
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Mayfield R. Shilling

    Born 1918 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Houston; inspector from Harris County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Kathie Shilling

    Arrived at New York in 1894 aboard the Lucania from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 23; farmer. From Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Dean Richard Shilling

    Born 1950; from Rawson, Ohio. U.S. Marine Corps, assaultman; died in an accident 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 445 records for Shilling in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia50 records

50 records of the Shilling name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 30
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 5
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record James Shilling

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Lloyds, arriving 1837; ticket of leave 1841.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George C. Shilling

    Gentleman of Footscray, Victoria; died 1938.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sarah Shilling

    Arrived in Victoria in 1865 aboard the Southern Ocean, aged 29.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 50 records for Shilling in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada6 records

6 records of the Shilling name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Roy Shilling

    Died 1966; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Howard Clayton Shilling

    Buried in 1986 at Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Arthur Shilling

    Died in service in 1920.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 6 records for Shilling in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Shilling name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Shilling

    Essex Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Shilling name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Maria Louiza Magdalena Shilling

    In a population register.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Shilling.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shilling is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Shilling volume
Scroll to Top