Barling One-Name Study

Barling
One-Name Study

Topics

About the Barling One-Name Study
Variants
Origin of the surname
Historical occurrences
Distribution of the name
Data
DNA project
Links
Contact Details

About the Barling One-Name Study

This study aims at bringing together genealogical and family history information on all people, world-wide, of the surname BARLING, or a close variant. A key aim is to assign each person to a specific branch, and to determine whether, and if so, how these branches are interrelated. Whilst concentrating on those with that surname, information is also sought on all direct descendants of BARLINGs.

Variants

This study includes these variants: BARLIN, BARLING, BARLINGE, BARLYN, BARLYNG, BARLYNGE, BARMYNG, BARMING, BARMELING. It also includes surnames such as BARLEN, BARLON, BARLAN & BURLING where other members of those families also used one of the previous variants. Note that BURLING is often mistranscribed as BARLING, and vice versa. However, the geographical distribution of BURLING differs significantly from that of most BARLING variants.

Origin of the surname

The majority of living BARLINGs can be traced back to Kent, England, to families that used that surname before 1500. However, it is now clear that there are other, probably quite separate origins: for example a large branch that goes back in Hampshire/Wiltshire area of England before 1600. There are also some BARLING families without an English origin: principally from Russia, Sweden & Germany.

Although there is a village called Barling in Essex, a connection with the inherited surname BARLING has not yet been found. There is some evidence that the Kent BARLING name may have originated from the village now called BARMING, near Maidstone, when members moved to the Egerton/Ulcombe area in the 1400s.

I have divided the BARLINGs into these major branches based on places with which each were strongly associated:

Brookland & Egerton: Earliest documented ancestor: Egerton, Kent . Main locations: Kent; USA. Barlings were in Egerton in 1486.
Romsey: Earliest documented ancestor: Lyndhurst, Hampshire in 1682. Main locations: Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset; Australia; USA. Barlings were in Hampshire around 1600
Sheppey & Ulcombe; Earliest documented ancestor: Ulcombe, Kent (1526). Main locations: Kent. Ulcombe is 3 miles from Egerton
Warehorne: Earliest documented ancestor: Little Chart, Kent (1718) Main locations: Kent; Australia; USA. Little Chart is 3 miles from Egerton
Kingston: Earliest documented ancestor: Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey (1783). Main locations: Worcestershire; Gloucestershire; USA. Barlings in Kingston, Surrey in 1725
Other branches: Maidstone & Headcorn, Kent (1650); Sweden (1667)

Main locations: Kent; Hampshire;USA; Germany; Russia, Sweden

English BARLING families from before 1700 are from Kent or Hampshire

Historical occurrences

The ancestors of one Kent branch of the BARLINGs owned Barling Manor near Egerton in the period between 1500 and 1700.

Distribution of the name

In England, the BARLING surname is not uniformally distributed, with a concentration in the Kent area, still reflecting the early origins of many branches. In the late 1700s, there were major branches in Kent and Hampshire. By the early 1800s, another centre of BARLINGs was established in the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire area, and descendants of the Hampshire and Kent families were flourishing in the USA. In the mid 1800s, there was a further emigration to Australia and to the USA.

Data

Link to Family Trees for each branch Additions and corrections are welcome.

DNA project

BARLING is a fairly rare surname with only a small number of currently unlinked “branches”. Moreover, most of those “branches” have origins in England, and in particular in a very specific part of Kent.

A key question we have been trying to answer is which BARLING branches indeed share a common direct male-line ancestor. This can now be answered through a simple DNA test.

The DNA test also gives indications as to the earlier, i.e. prehistoric, geographical origins of direct male-line ancestors.

Data has been obtained showing that the 'Romsey' branch from Hants/Wilts is not related in the genealogical time period with the 'Egerton' branch from Kent. Volunteer testers from other branches are urgently required.

More details are here: BARLING DNA STUDY

and results so far are here: DNA results

Click here to Join the DNA project