This interesting surname is of Scottish locational origin from the ancient parish of Pentland in Midlothian. The derivation is from the Medieval English "pent", enclosed, plus "land", land and the surname from this source first appears on record towards the end of the 13th Century, (see below). Other early recordings include one, Ralph de Penteland who was sent to Montrose to arrest a vessel in 1304 and John de Pentland who received payment for loading and unloading wool and hides circa 1305. Thomas de Pentland held a land in Edinburgh in 1400, and William Pentland alias Godechild had "letters of denization" in England in 1480. George Paintland, burgess of Glasgow, in 1628, shows an interesting variation on the surname. In 1826-1827 Joseph Barclay Pentland, traveller, surveyed a large portion of the Bolivian Andes in the company of Sir Woodbine Parish, and explored other South American districts. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam de Pentland, which was dated 1298, "The Register of Holyrood Abbey", during the reign of During the Interregnum, 1296 - 1306. 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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