Havilands.org

We are both a surname study, which may include family trees of Havilands not known to be related, and a lineage study, focusing on all known descendants of Thomas De Haveilland of Guernsey of the 15th century, the earliest known ancestor to whom genealogists have been able to trace.

There are several myths regarding the origins of the name Haviland. One is that the name was originally de Havery, and became Haverland as a result of placing the family's origins in the "land of Havery." That is: the family of Havery-land, or, de Haverland.

The early Havilands of England were of French birth, the original name being de Havery. The earliest records state that three brothers of that name emigrated from France to England. While crossing the Channel it was agreed that the first to see land should say, "Have I Land" and that became their English surname." (1)

Unfortunately, the author did not cite the source of these "earliest records," and the above statement is probably fiction. While it is possible that the name Haverland migrated down from Germany with the Franks who settled the area (the Haverland name can still be found in Germany, as with Haverland Pumpernickel bread that has been sold there for many generations), there is no evidence that the Haverland families and the de Havilland familes are the same. On the contrary: Y-DNA research has proven so far that Germanic Haverlands and Guernsey de Havillands are not related in any way that establish an etymological connection between the two names.

Therefore, it is no longer appropriate to say that the Guernsey "de Havilland" family was originally called Haverland in Neustria, as popularized by the author of the Chronicle de Havilland in the 1890's. It is more correct to say that the Guernsey "de Havilland" family was originally called Abilant in Neustria, and if the Haverlands from Germany arrived there at some point in history, it was a separate family. The fief (with its castle) was not Haverland, it was Abilant. Using the spelling "Haverland" is an antiquated substitution.

What makes genealogy more confusing is that ancient surnames did not have specific spellings. In the middle ages names were written down phonetically, and so ancient records combine related and unrelated families with variations of Abilant, Abillant, Avilant, Avillant, Havilant, Havillant, Haverlain, Haverland, Havelin, Haverlant, Havelan, Haberland, Haveilland, Havilland, and so forth.

The name Havilland (with a double-L) is genealogically older and slowly emerged as the "correct" spelling with the onset of printing presses and other means of publishing. The spellings Haveland and especially Haviland (both with a single L) are more recent, originating in certain Guernsey descendants in England. The loss of the second L probably has no cause but phonetic, but some branches stopped using "de" as a Nobiliary particle. (Therefore, "de Havilland" became "Haviland.") In the case of the de Havilland family, the particle was a remnant of their origins with the Franks, where it served as a nom de terre ("name of land") for a nobleman. Those in England who wished to publically disassociate themselves with the French might have dropped "de" from their name purposely. Or it might have been for other political or migratory reasons, such as settling in the New World.

Both "Haviland" and "de Haviland" are considered to be parallel modern spellings of a surname that belongs to the same family in most cases.

In America and Canada, the spelling Haviland is the most common. However, variant spellings such as Heavilon and Heavirland arose on specific American branches for reasons unknown. Y-DNA evidence has been proven them to be de Havilland descendants also.

Meanwhile, Y-DNA evidence has also established genealogies bearing the name Haviland who are not descended from the Guernsey de Havillands but can genealogically trace back to Ireland, some of them originally with the name Havlin.

One of the earliest spellings of the Haviland name was 
Abilant, apparently named after an extinct fortress in Neustria (the land we now call Normandy in North France since the Norman invasion). It is generally accepted that the Guernsey de Havillands descended from the holders of this fortress, which was located near the mouth of the river Saire on the Cotentin peninsula. The ruins of this castle were dismantled after they were sacked by the Vikings, and the stones are probably used in manor houses and structures standing there to this day. But the exact location of the site is a mystery.

Abilant was a fief before it was a surname. The Neustrian fief was a large estate of land held by a lord who pledged service to the Merovingians and Carolingians (the Frankish kingdoms of this time) to protect the Eastern side of the peninsula from raiders. In the tradition of the French nom de terre, the fief lord's given name would be followed with "de Abilant" (of Avilant). His descendants continued the practice long after Abilant was lost. Hence: William d'Avilant or William of Avilant. This would evolve on the Channel Island of Guernsey, where they settled, to "de Havilland."

Originally Abilant might have been defending the lands of Queen of Neustria against Queen of Austrasia in the 500's, but regardless if it dated that far back, it became useful as a stronghold overlooking the West bank of the Baie de la Seine (Bay of the Seine) when the Scandinavians began their conquests. Its protection probably failed against the campaigns of the Vikings in the early to mid 800's, and the castle badly damaged. Male descendants of the fief lord survived, however, and appear to have been still occupying the territory for another hundred to two hundred years. But they eventually settled Guernsey and became rulers of state there. At some point one of the Lords d'Avilant was granted a Coat-of-Arms with a blackened castle for a charge (similar to that of the Kingdom of Castille in France) on their shield. This was alleged to symbolize their fief's extinction after the Norman Invasion. (See samples of bearings on the right.)

No genealogical evidence has been found to trace the family to Abilant itself, and there is very scant historical evidence of its connection to the de Havillands, but some evidence is better than none, and it is very likely the true origin of what is now referred to as Guernsey family, the progenitor of all the de Havillands and Havilands of England, Australia, America, Canada, and elsewhere.