This unusual and interesting name derives from the Olde French name "Cat(e)lin", itself coming from the Greek "Katharous" meaning "pure". The surname from this source is first recorded at the end of the 12th Century (see below). One Robert Catyln appears in the 1441 Sheffield Manorial Records. On March 27th 1629, Ann Catling, daughter of John and Mary Catling, was christened at St. Olave's, Mart Street, London, and on December 30th 1680, Mary Catling and Henry Randall were married at All Hallows, London Wall, also in London. The final "g" on the name is excrescent. It is interesting to note that the metronymics Catling, Marguerite, and Dyott, are believed to derive from the names of women who were either widows for the greater part of their adult lives, or else heiresses in their own right. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Catelin, which was dated 1198, witness in the "Fine Court Rolls of Norfolk", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "Richard the Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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