Show ContentsShaun History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Shaun family

The surname Shaun was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, where they held a family seat from ancient times, some say as early as the 12th century. In this county the name has been found in the parishes of Fyvie, Drumblade, Auchterless, Culsalmond, Forgue, Turriff, Gamrie and King Edward.

"A rare but old surname in Scotland. 'The surname of Shand seems originally to have been confined to the north-eastern counties, particularly Aberdeenshire, and in that county more especially to the districts comprising the parishes of: Turriff, Forgue, Drumblade, Auchterless, Culsalmond, Fyvie, King-Edward, and Garnrie." 1

The family is said, by C.F. Shand, the family historian, to be descended from Philibert de Shaunde, Earl of Bath in 1485, who in turn, was descended from a noble house in Normandy. The Earl of Bath, Philibert Shaunde, was created by King Henry II of England and Normandy. Philibert was styled by the King as "Consanguineus noster." 2

Further south in England, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Johannes Schaune, Webster; and Thomas Shan. 3

Early History of the Shaun family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shaun research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1522, 1551 and 1672 are included under the topic Early Shaun History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shaun Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Shand, Chand, Schand, Chandai, Shandscross, Shawnd and many more.

Early Notables of the Shaun family

Notable among the family at this time was

  • Philibert de Shaunde, Earl of Bath

Migration of the Shaun family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: A. Shand who arrived in San Francisco, California, in 1852.


Contemporary Notables of the name Shaun (post 1700) +

  • Rear Admiral William Shaun Truelove CMM CD, Canadian Royal Canadian Navy officer, Commander, Maritime Forces Pacific (2012-2015)
  • Darren Shaun Bazeley (b. 1972), English footballer
  • Matthew Shaun Kilgallon (b. 1984), English professional footballer
  • Herman Shaun Hardin, American politician, Candidate for village President of Riverdale, Illinois, 2005 4
  • Shaun Mawer (1959-2010), British professional footballer who played for Grimsby Town as a full back
  • Shaun Playford Burgoyne (b. 1982), Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club
  • Shaun Martin (1978-2024), American four-time Grammy Award winning composer, arranger, record producer, and multi-instrumental musician
  • Shaun Williams (b. 1986), Irish professional footballer
  • Shaun LeJon Williams (b. 1976), American former professional football player
  • Shaun Williams (b. 1998), South African rugby union player, who competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics


The Shaun Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Virtute duce comite fortuna
Motto Translation: With valor my leader and good fortune my companion.


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook