[Surname] Re: Schilling - German
by Anon. (guest)
5/16/2004, 3:26 PM
I'll explain the German 'Schilling'. The name of the German Schilling coin means 'division' or fraction. It was originally applied to subdivisions of the gold tremesis, or one-third solidus coin. But the German surname is thought to derive from the circumstance that the person concerned was obliged to pay the amount of one Schilling in 'tax'. This surname first appears in 1178, as 'Scilling'.