Origin | |
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Meaning | patronymic, son of Alan fitz Flaad |
Region of origin | Brittany |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Fitz-Alan, Fitzalan, Fitzallen, Fitz Alan |
FitzAlan is an English patronymic surname of Anglo-Norman origin, descending from the Breton knight Alan fitz Flaad (died 1120), who accompanied king Henry I to England on his succession. He was grandson of the Seneschal of the Bishop of Dol. The FitzAlan family shared a common patrilineal ancestry with the House of Stuart.
The FitzAlans held the Earldom of Arundel from 1267 to 1580.
Variants of this surname include Fitz-Alan, Fitzalan, Fitzallen, and Fitz Alan. The noble family of bearing this surname would eventually abandon their patronymic in favor of a toponymic surname, Arundel or Arundell, a reference to their title in the Peerage of England, but use of the FitzAlan surname is often retained in the historical literature.