FitzAlan is an English patronymic surname of Anglo-Norman origin, descending from the Breton knight Alan fitz Flaad (d. 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 House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter ...

. The FitzAlans held the

Earldom of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earl of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. The ea ...

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 A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

, 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.

Family members

Notable people with the surname FitzAlan include: * Walter Fitz Alan (d. 1177) * William FitzAlan, Lord of Oswestry (1105–1160), an important Marcher lord and supporter of Empress Matilda, elder brother of Walter Fitz Alan. * William Fitz Alan, 1st Lord of Oswestry and Clun (died 1210), son of William FitzAlan, Lord of Oswestry, and a Marcher lord under the early Plantagenet kings. * William Fitz Alan, 2nd Lord of Oswestry and Clun (died 1215), son of William Fitz Alan, 1st Lord of Oswestry and Clun; he came into conflict with King John. * John Fitzalan, 3rd Lord of Oswestry and Clun (1200–1240), son of William Fitz Alan, 1st Lord of Oswestry and Clun; he married into the d'Aubigny family, thus acquiring the Arundel earldom for the FitzAlans. * John FitzAlan 6th Earl of Arundel (1223–1267) * John FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel (1246–1272) * Richard FitzAlan, 8th Earl of Arundel (1267–1302), who received a writ in 1289, at his majority, summoning him to Parliament; this is thought to perhaps be a creation of another Earldom of Arundel.G E Cokayne, et al., The Complete Peerage (London 1910-1958, 3rd of 14 vols.) * Richard FitzAlan, 1st or 8th Earl of Arundel (1267–1302) * Edmund FitzAlan, 2nd or 9th Earl of Arundel (1285–1326) (forfeit 1326) * Richard FitzAlan, 3rd or 10th Earl of Arundel (1313–1376) (restored 1331) * Richard FitzAlan, 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel (1346–1397) (forfeit 1397) * Thomas FitzAlan, 5th or 12th Earl of Arundel (1381–1415) (restored 1400) * John FitzAlan, 6th or 13th Earl of Arundel (1385–1421) * John FitzAlan, 7th or 14th Earl of Arundel (1408–1435) * Humphrey FitzAlan, 8th or 15th Earl of Arundel (1429–1438) * William FitzAlan, 9th or 16th Earl of Arundel (1417–1487) * Thomas FitzAlan, 10th or 17th Earl of Arundel (1450–1524) * William FitzAlan, 11th or 18th Earl of Arundel (1476–1544) * Henry FitzAlan, 12th or 19th Earl of Arundel (1512–1580) * Eleanor FitzAlan (ca. 1284 – ca. 1328) * Bryan FitzAlan, Lord FitzAlan (d. 1306) * Lady Elizabeth FitzAlan (1366–1425) * Thomas FitzAlan (died 1430), English knight Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 14th Duke of Norfolk (1815–1860), the 13th Earl of Arundel of the Fourth Creation (1580), revived the use of the Fitzalan surname in the

hyphenated The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. ''Son-in-law'' is an example of a hyphenated word. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes (figure ...

form "Fitzalan-Howard". Edmund FitzAlan-Howard (1855–1947), son of the 14th Duke of Norfolk was raised up to the Peerage as "Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent" in 1921 when he was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

Lady Marcia Fitzalan-Howard Lady Marcia Mary Josephine Fitzalan-Howard (born 10 March 1953), known as Marsha Fitzalan, is an English actress. Personal life Born in 1953, Marcia FitzAlan-Howard was the third daughter of Major Miles Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk an ...

(b. 1953), daughter of the 17th Duke of Norfolk, uses the stage name Marsha Fitzalan as an actress.

Origins

Family Tree

Armorial

References

{{surname, FitzAlan Norman-language surnames Surnames of Breton origin Surnames of Norman origin Surnames of Scottish origin Patronymic surnames Surnames from given names