Hello and Welcome to F Day!
Today we are going to do something a little different because, believe it or not, outside of the Francois Benoni duo, I have no proven direct lineage F first names. So, instead I thought I’d dive into my mom’s maiden name: Featheringill!
Featheringill
An unusual surname in our area, it is one I carried myself until mid-elementary when I asked to have my raised dad’s last name. Though I’ll never regret changing it, I now find it a beautiful name and do wonder for its future.
The internet is not quite sure what to make of the name, and maybe because there are questions about it’s evolution, but the general consensus is that it means something like the following, found on NameDiscoveries.com, though I’ve searched many a website and found various answers:
The surname Featheringill is of English origin and is derived from a combination of two elements. “Feathering” refers to the act of trimming or smoothing the feathers of a bird, while “gill” is a Middle English term for a ravine or narrow valley. Therefore, the surname Featheringill likely originated as a locational name for someone who lived near a ravine or valley where birds were commonly found or where feather trimming may have taken place.
A cousin asked me recently where all the Featheringills went and I didn’t have a solid answer for her in a broad sense, but as the Family Historian, I’m gathering a general sense that it is a name that, though our generation was deeply familiar with, is almost extinct within the United States. Additionally, in my limited research to date, doesn’t exist outside of the USA.
According to recent US Census records, ~250 Featheringills currently live in the United States. I can name six of them off the top of my head because they are my cousins and their children 🙂 Three of those six are women and (most likely) won’t hand the name down to possible future children.
By the Numbers
Looking at our direct line alone, it seems the men make more daughters than they do sons. More than average, at least.
If we go back seven generations we find:
- John Featheringill b. 1750 – five of eleven children were male
- William Featheringill b. 1785 – four of eight children were male
- William Featheringill b. 1818 – three of eight children were male
- John Featheringill b. 1858 – three of seven children were male
- William Featheringill b. 1883 – one of two children were male
- William Featheringill b. 1913 – one of four children were male
- William Featheringill b 1948 – two of five children were male
That’s 42% male births in this line compared to the 51% average male births in the United States at large.
When we consider that it is the men who carry our surnames forward, the Featheringills have faced a challenge for generations.
As an aside, raise your hand if you have a love/hate relationship with naming patterns 😉
Fatheringham/Fothergill/Fetherdinghull
I mentioned above that Featheringill seems to be unique to the United States as I haven’t (again, in my limited research) found it as an active name elsewhere, though there are countless variations to dive into if I had the time and capacity.
A few of those variations and name meaning variations can be found here.
NameCensus.com shares about a few better-known folk who may offer clues to the possible name evolution, but the possibilities seem endless:
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Leicestershire from the year 1194, which mentions a Ralph de Fetherdingill. This suggests that the name was already established in the East Midlands region of England by the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, a Robert de Fetherdinghull was listed in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1239. This variation in spelling highlights the fluidity of surnames during that time period, as they were often adapted to local dialects and pronunciations.
During the 14th century, the name appeared in various records across England. For instance, a John Fetheringill was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, while a Thomas Fetheryngyll was recorded in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1381.
Surname Study
Lots to choose from, no? So, what’s a lady to do?
First, I’d like to trace our Featheringill’s to their place of origin outside the USA. It is believed that our line first came to the Virginia’s in the 1600s. I have tentatively placed my 1750 John in Virginia, but that has yet to be proven and 150 years is quite the span to prove beyond him.
I’m hoping DNA and documentation will come together nicely one day and show me the way.
Second, I’m daydreaming about diving into a full-on Surname Study at some point in the future when there are less things pulling on my attention. I’d love to find the connection between our Featheringills and whoever we were before we were here.
In the meantime, I’ll focus in on documenting as much as possible about my favorite Featheringill male, my Grandpa Phil. I never got to meet him, but he was a pretty cool dude. You can learn more about his Jazz music production, Columbia Records cover art, and more through the Finding Phil tag.
In Your Research…
Have you come across a surname or family line that begs you to learn more or leaves you with more questions than answers?
Housekeeping
My theme for the 2025 A to Z Challenge is Kin! The first names of direct lineage kin, to be more specific.
I’m spending the majority of the month focusing on the first names of many of my direct lineage kin. I’ll include their full names, any vital information I’ve found in my research, their relation to me, any fun tidbits/characteristics/experiences, and any commonalities I may have gleaned between myself and them.
In a couple of cases, where I have not identified an ancestor whose first name starts with a particular letter, I will choose a unique middle name, a direct line surname, and/or ancestral lands/places of significance.
Pop over here to read my full theme reveal: A to Z 2025 Challenge Theme Reveal: Kin
Pop over here to visit our host and see what they’re up to throughout this year’s challenge: A to Z Challenge
If you’re visiting from the A to Z Challenge please leave a comment so I can visit you, too! If your comment bio doesn’t link back to your site, please feel free to add the link to your most recent post to the comment field so I can be sure to find you.
Thanks for being here! See you again soon!
Onward,
Melissa
Cleage is the easiest name I have to follow. The rest are pretty common. Originally it was Clegg. One of the slaveholders changed the spelling to Cleage for unknown reasons. Because so many of the formerly enslaved on their plantations kept the name of Cleage, it was easy to find and follow the various lines up to the present. One thing is that the name is dying out because so many women and the men are not passing it on. In my family, my grandfather was one of four brothers. One brother had one son who had no children. One brother had one son and five daughters. The son died in infancy. My grandfather had four sons and my father had two daughters and a son that was stillborn. I heard that the same is true for the white Cleages. And doing a search, I mostly find the same. Lots of daughters reproducing and not so much sons.
It’s so interesting when you really dial it in. Maybe Nature is coming through loud and clear as to what our numbers will look like in the future? Only time will tell.
If I ever feel I can afford the membership fee at Ancestry, I will work on my mother’s lineage. I dabbled back in the 2009-2011 timeframe and think I found something on my grandfather. My mother and her brother were put into foster care at ages 3 & 6. Her mother died giving birth to her. She always thought her father died but I think I found a record on him in the 1950s.
Donna: Click for my 2025 A-Z Blog
It sounds like you have a mystery to solve, Donna! Ancestry can get expensive, even a month at a time, I know. If you’d ever like help, I’m happy to volunteer. I love puzzles like this and love to use my membership for others when I can. The 1950 Census was released a few years ago and was hugely helpful for in a variety of ways, it may be for you, too!
No pressure, though, truly 🙂
When trying to look into my ancestry, I ran across a similar problem regarding names, lol. It made this extra confusing when I realized that some people used nicknames or their middles for legal documents. An example being that most of the legal documents I could find for one of my great-grandmas had her down as Vivian. It was like that even when she was a child. Turns out, that was not her legal name and was inside her middle name. My family is also racially ambiguous (we are primarily African American but the vast majority of my family could pass as a very tan caucasion.) So some documents would have them down as the wrong race up till a certain point in history where their race would suddenly change to something else. Coupled with the naming issue it made for not a good time when reaserching. Still, it was fun. I still go back to try my hand out finding out my families history but I have hit a snag.
Hi Zoha! Thank you for sharing some of your findings! It’s amazing all the twists and turns our branches can take! I’m so glad you find it fun because it’s truly never done. As soon as you think you’ve hit the end of the road, another clue pops up! I hope you learn as much as possible and enjoy every minute!
Greetings from a fellow A to Z blogger.
I subscribe to several genealogy sites and thought I would quickly plug in Featheringill and see what turned up.
FindMyPast had 1413 results – the earliest a 1797 marriage of a Mary in Shenandoah, Virginia. There are 19 results in Britain – the earliest is 1859.
Ancestrydotcom had 15,929 results including other researchers of that name
MyHeritage had 16,392 results including other researchers of that name
TheGenealogist had only 3 results but included a baptism for 1762 in Northumberland (it is a British site)
There are 70 profiles with the surname Featheringill on wikitree (a free genealogy database)
My searches used exact spelling … lots to go on with – I am sure a full surname study would be very interesting
Hi Anne! Thank you so much for your time and quick fingers! I circle back on these sites fairly regularly in my general research and this is a solid reminder that the circling back is never done as new information is added, new people test, etc. I appreciate you!
After reading your post I raced off to Trove.nla.gov.au, our free online newspaper collection in Australia and searched for Featheringill and got 6 hits. They related to an American author and a Spanish soldier so I doubt there is anyone with that name in our country.
I am also a genie from downunder who has a surname study on the Curry name that is restricted to Australia.
Hi Jill! This is very interesting indeed! I wonder if the American author was an Eve or Michael Featheringill? My Grandma Eve (married into the Featheringill family) was an author with a handful of books published in the 1950s and 1960s. There was a lot of marketing put into them but I’d be shocked if that marketing reached Australia! Thank you for giving it a look! A mystery is always good fun!
What a unique surname!
Ronel visiting for A-Z Challenge The Lovely and Enchanting Freyja & My Languishing TBR: F #AtoZChallenge2025 #Books #Bookreview
Indeed! It was a doozie to learn how to spell in my early years! 13 letters is a lot of letters for a small child 😉