This most ancient and noble surname is of Celtic/Breton origins, and is a variant form of Jolland, which itself is derived from the personal name "Joel", plus the diminutive suffix "-in"; hence "Joel-in". The personal name itself is of Old Breton-Cornish origin, from the Celtic, Old Breton personal name "Iudicael", composed of the Old Breton elements "Iud-", lord, chief, and "-hael", generous, bountiful. This name was borne by a 7th Century saint who was king of Brittany, later abdicating and living the rest of his life in a monastery. The name was popular in Devon and Cornwall and the Breton districts of Yorkshire and the eastern counties. Modern variants of the surname include Jolin, Jollands, Jowling, Golland and Golland. The personal name is found in Lincolnshire, during the reign of Henry 11 (1154 - 1189), as Jollanus, and Joelinus, while one Iolanus de Nouilla appears in the same records. William Goelin is mentioned in 1212, in the Curia Rolls of Oxford, while Richard Joelan is recorded in the Curia Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1214. Thomas, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Jalland, was christened on October 30th 1761, at St. Botolph Bishopsgate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alexander Jolleen, which was dated 1196, in the "Curia Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "Richard the Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. 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.

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