This name is of early medieval English origin, from the Middle English given name "Rawlin", which was adopted from the Old French "Raulin", itself a double diminutive (with the diminutive suffixes "el" and "in") of "Raw", a variant of Ralph. The latter was first introduced into England by Scandinavian settlers as "Rathulfr", in Old Norse, and became "Raedwulf" in Anglo-Saxon. The name means "counsel-wolf", from the originally Germanic elements "rad", counsel, advice, with "wolf", a wolf. Before the Norman Conquest of 1066, it had become "Radulf" and the Normans spread the name further in such forms as "Rauf" and "Raffe". The modern surname can be found in a variety of forms, ranging from Rawling, Rawlin and Raulin to Rallin and Ralling. One Mary Ann Rallings married Thomas Wilkes on July 17th 1831 at Old Swinford, Worchestershire. The patronymic forms include: Rawlin(g)s, Rawlyns, Raulins, Rallin(g)s, Rawlinson and Rallison. The Coat of Arms most associated with the name is a black shield with three swords palewise, points in chief, hits and pommels gold, the Crest being an arm embowed in armour proper, the elbow resting on the wreath, holding in the gauntlet a silver falchion (broadsword), hilt gold. The motto, "Cognosce teipsum et disce pati", translates as "Know thyself, and learn to suffer". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Raulyn, which was dated 1290, Eynsham Parish Records, Oxfordshire, during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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