Islop History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Etymology of Islop

What does the name Islop mean?

Islop is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in a valley noted for having many hazel trees. This name belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. The surname Islop is derived from the Old English word hæsel and the Old Norse word hesli, which both mean hazel, and from the Old English word hop, which refers to a valley or a hollow between two hills. 1

Early Origins of the Islop family

The surname Islop was first found in Oxfordshire at Islip, a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Bicester, hundred of Ploughley. "This place, now an inconsiderable village, is remarkable as the birthplace of Edward the Confessor, whose father, Ethelred II, had a palace here." 2

Walter de Islip, who died after 1335, was an English-born cleric, statesman and judge. Born at Islip, he rose to become first Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. His cousin, Simon Islip, who died in 1366, was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1349 and 1366.

In years later, Yorkshire would prove to be a homestead of the family as John Heslop was listed here in 1414. 3

We must look north to Scotland to find the lion's share of the family history. Here, the name literally meant "hazel-hope." Alexander Heselihope held land in Edinburgh in 1425, and William Heslihope, or Heslyhop, appears as rector and vicar of the church of Cortoquhy (or Cortochquhy) in 1429 and 1439. Stephen de Heslyhope, presbyter and notary public of Glasgow in 1446, appears again in 1455 as Stephen Heslop. Archibald Heslihop, "vtherwais callit Schir Suythe," had remission for reset of outlawed Rutherfurds in 1501. Thomas Heslop, "pensionario preposito ecclesie parochialis de Houston," is in record in 1525 (REG., 497). John Hesilhop was a witness in Glasgow in 1555 (Protocols, I), Hobe Heslop was a tenant of the abbot of Kelso in 1567 (Kelso, p. 520), Williame Hessilhoip, reidare at Stow, 1574 (RMR.), and Alexander Hasillip appears in Carsfern parish in 1684." 4

At about this time, "Heslop was the name of several proprietors in the Hexham division in the 17th century; the name is still numerous in the Hexham district." 5

Early History of the Islop family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Islop research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1180, 1366, 1455, 1464, 1480, 1498, 1500, 1503 and 1532 are included under the topic Early Islop History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Islop Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Islop family name include Heaslip, Hislop, Haslop, Haslip, Heslep, Hyslop and many more.

Early Notables of the Islop family

Notables of the family at this time include Simon Islip (d. 1366), Archbishop of Canterbury, who derived his name from the village of Islip on the Cherwell, about six miles north of Oxford, where he was probably born. 6John Islip (1464-1532) was Abbot of the Monastery of Westminster. He claimed descent from Archbishop Simon Islip and it is commemorated today in John Islip Street, Westminster, London. "John entered the monastery of Westminster about 1480, and showed his administrative capacity in minor offices, till in 1498 he was elected prior, and on 27 Oct. 1500 abbot of Westminster. The first business which...
Another 184 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Islop Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Islop family to Ireland

Some of the Islop family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Islop family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Islop surname or a spelling variation of the name include: William Heaslip, who came to Virginia in 1638.

Sources +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print