Although the surname Craig can easily be identified with the Gaelic word for a cliff or outcrop of rock (such as Ailsa Craig or Craigellachie) its origin appears to go far back into the time of the Picts, a native race from North East Scotland, of which very little is known. The story goes that […]
Crichton Castle, Midlothian, initially built in the 1300s by John de Crichton The name Crichton originates from the the lands of Kreitton, a very old barony near Edinburgh. Recordings of the name first appear around 1128 when Thurstan de Crechtune witnessed the foundation of the Abbey of Holyrood House by David I. Thomas de Crichton, […]
The personal name Duncan can be found in Scotland’s oldest records in its Gaelic form Dunchad/Donchadh and other spelling varients. (Dunchad) Duncan, originally a forename, is without doubt one of the earliest names in Scotland – surnames being introduced by the Normans around 1120 AD – and originates from the Dalriadan Celtic Scotii (Scots) from […]
The Johnstones were at one time among the most powerful of the Border clans. They settled originally in Annandale, and have for over six hundred years held extensive possessions on the western marches, where they kept watch against the English freebooters. The first recorded of the family was John Johnstone, whose son, Gilbert, is named […]
The MacFarlanes are descendants of the Earl of Lennox whose brother was to bestow the lands at Arrochar, by Loch Long, confirmed to Iain MacPharlain in 1420. When Earl Duncan of Lennox was executed by James I the MacFarlanes had a valid claim to the title, yet it was given to the Stewarts by the […]
As far back as the time of Sir William Wallace, the Moffats were a powerful and influential borders family, who most likely gave their name to the town of Moffat in Dumfriesshire. The progenitor of the clan was a Norseman, William de Mont Alto, who came to Scotland in the tenth century. By the twelfth […]
The surname Gibbs is of personal origin. In 1335, Rothesay Castle was surrendered by a Johun Gibson, and there is a record of a Thomas Gibbeson breaking his parole, for which he was charged, in 1358. A one time hostage of Henry VI in 1425, William Douglas, had John Gybbessone as a servitor, and in […]
King Malcolm IV (1153 – 1165) had granted the lands of Ledmacdunegil (Ledmacduuegil or Lethmachduuegil) near Dunfermline, Fife. These lands became known afterwards as Masterton as were owned by the Magister Ailricus, cementarius (Magister means Master). The Scottish title “maister” was usually held by the eldest sons of barons. The land took on his name, […]
Erskine is an area on the south of the River Clyde, ten miles west of Glasgow. The name is believed to be ancient British for ‘green rising ground’. In the early 13th century, during the reign of Alexander II, the first man to take the name as his own was Henry of Erskine, owner of […]
The name Muirhead is a locational name and is said to be one of the most ancient families in Lanarkshire. This is a historic county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire It was a Norman convention of taking territorial-based surnames. As landowners became known by the name of the lands that they held, tenants […]
