Show ContentsNewlands History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Newlands

What does the name Newlands mean?

There are several places named Newland in Britain including: a liberty in the parish of Hurst, Berkshire; a parish in Gloucestershire; a township in Lancashire; a parish in Worcestershire; and a hamlet in the East Rising of Yorkshire to list a few. Newlands is found in Cumberland, Derbyshire, Northumberland and Durham. 1

All have the same meaning: "new arable land," having derived from the Old English word "niwe," + land. The earliest seems to be found in Hertfordshire and Worcestershire which both date back to 1221. 2

Another source sums up the origin as someone "who dwelt on, or near, the newly cleared or newly acquired land; one who came from Newland, the name of various places in England." 3

Early Origins of the Newlands family

The surname Newlands was first found in Kent where Samson de la Niwelande was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1181. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 has two listings of the family in Cambridgeshire: Roger de la Neuelonde and Richard le de Neulond. The same rolls includes entries for Thomas de la Neulaund, Essex and G. de Neuland, Lincolnshire. 5

Somerset records show William atte Niwelond, Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign on King Edward III.) 6

Up in Scotland, "There was an old barony of Newlands in the sheriffdom of Kincardine, and a parish of the name in Peeblesshire, from either of which the surname may have been derived. The name was common in Glasgow in the sixteenth century, and common in the parish of Dalswinton till recent times. Jasper Newlands of that Ilk in record, 1469. Duncan Newlandis bailie of the burgh of Linlithgow, 1493, Peter Newlandis, witness there in 1537 (Johnstoun), and Kentigem Newlandis, witness in 1542." 7

Early History of the Newlands family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Newlands research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1469, 1481, 1483, 1515, 1573, 1597, 1640, 1648, 1670, 1675, 1688, 1702, 1706, 1726, 1730, 1743, 1748, 1782 and 1807 are included under the topic Early Newlands History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Newlands 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 Newlands family name include Newland, Newling, Newley, Nieland, Newlan and others.

Early Notables of the Newlands family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Robert Newlyn (1597-1688), was an English clergyman and academic, President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford from 1640 to 1648; and Roger Newland of Newlands in Southampton who having failed to effec...
  • Abraham Newland (1730-1807), was Chief Cashier of the Bank of England, son of William Newland, miller and baker at Grove, Buckinghamshire. His father had twenty-five children by two wives. Elected a c...

Migration of the Newlands family to Ireland

Some of the Newlands 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.


Newlands migration to the United States +

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 Newlands surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Newlands Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Joseph Newlands, who landed in New York in 1789 8
Newlands Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • James B Newlands, who landed in New York in 1836 8
  • James Bimie Newlands, who arrived in America in 1850 8

Newlands migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Newlands Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. John Newlands, (b. 1846), aged 29, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Peter Denny" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 25th November 1875 9
  • Mr. Henry Newlands, (b. 1849), aged 30, Scottish farm labourer, from Linlithgow travelling from Clyde aboard the ship "Nelson" arriving in Invercargill, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 28th August 1879 10
  • Mrs. Christina Newlands, (b. 1851), aged 28, Scottish settler, from Linlithgow travelling from Clyde aboard the ship "Nelson" arriving in Invercargill, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 28th August 1879 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Newlands (post 1700) +

  • Francis G. Newlands (1846-1917), United States Representative and Senator from Nevada, eponym of the Newlands Resolution
  • John Alexander Reina Newlands (1837-1898), English chemist who received the Davy medal from the Royal Society in recognition of his work
  • Anthony Newlands (1926-1995), British actor
  • George McLeod Newlands, Emeritus Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow


The Newlands 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: Le Nom, les armes, la loyauté
Motto Translation: The Name, the arms, the loyalty.


Suggested Readings for the name Newlands +

  • Ancestors and Descendants of Jacob H. Mendenhall and his Wife Hannah W. Newlin from the First Emigrants, Benjamin Mendenhall, England, and Nathaniel Newlin, Ireland, to Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1683 by Lillian Mendenhall Powell Jacobs.

  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  7. 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)
  8. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  9. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  10. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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