Project Surnames
Palan, Palin, Paling, Pallen, Pallin, Pallon, Paulin, Pauline, Peelen, Pelan, Pélan, Pellan, Pelling, Pelon, Pillan, Pilon, Plain, Plaine, Polin, Pollen, Pollin, Pullan, Pullen, Pullin, Smith
There are a whole host of very similar sounding surnames typically of the pattern P-vowel-L-vowel-N, such as Palin, Pelan and Pelling.
There is much evidence, both anecdotal and documentary, of these names mutating between different forms over hundreds of years which makes it very difficult to identify ancestral origins and if there are any connections between different variants occuring in isolation.
Are the Pelans of Ulster connected to the Pelans of Brittany? Are Pellings really Pelans or vice versa? Are Palins connected
to each other or to other similar groups?
This project aims to pull these different ancestral lines apart.
There are special sub-projects for specific names which will be added here;
* Pelan one-name study : http://pelan.org