_Surname of Allan_ (Vol. vii., p. 205.).--I think A. S. A. will find
that this name was introduced into Britain from Normandy. It occurs in
early Norman times as a personal name, and afterwards as a patronymic.
Thus Alan, the son of Flathald, who had the castle of Oswestry granted
him by the Conqueror, had a son, William Fitz-Alan, ancestor of the
great baronial house of Arundel. In the _Hundred Rolls_, temp. Edward
I., it is very common under the orthographies of _fil. Alan_, {341}
_fil. Alain_, _Alayn_, _Aleyn_, _Aleyne_, _Aleynes_, _Aleynys_, &c.
Allen has always remained a baptismal name, and hence it is probable
that there is no more affinity between the numerous families now bearing
it as a surname, than between the various Thompsons, Williamses, and
others of this class. The MacAllans of Scotland may have a separate
Celtic source, though it is far likelier that this name (like MacEdward,
MacGeorge, and numerous others) is the English appellative with the
patronymic Mac prefixed.