Dhillon

The history of surnames contains a great range of variant forms as a result of dialectal mis-spellings, in this case "Dhillon" may be deliberate. We believe that it is a form of professional camouflage to conceal its French origins during the regular periods of the 16th to 19th Centuries when such antecedents were highly unpopular in Britain. However, it has to be said that this is conjecture, in that proof positive would require a full genealogical survey, and "link" spellings have not been proven. The popular surname "Dillon" is itself of Saxon and Gaelic origins (pre 10th Century), and has produced a wide range of variant spellings, although "Dhillon" does not appear to be included. The origination of the surname "Dillon" is from "Dillo", a pre 7th Century German baptismal name, meaning "to destroy". A "link" with the modern "Dhillon" may be George De Hellowin (also recorded as Dehelion), who married Antoinette Le Tournour at St. Mary-Le-Bone, London, on July 11th 1809. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Pierre De Haluyn, which was dated September 24th 1583, a "Walloon", recorded at the Strangers Church, Canterbury, Kent, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.