Origin | |
---|---|
Meaning | Son of a strong man |
Region of origin | North East England, Scotland, Ireland |
Armstrong is a surname of English and Scottish borders origin.
The name Armstrong derives from a Middle English nickname which meant someone with strong arms.
The Scottish Armstrong is reputed to have been originally bestowed by "an antient (sic) king of Scotland" upon "Fairbairn, his armour-bearer" following an act of strength in battle. [1]
Clan Armstrong is a famous Border Reiver clan from the border area between England and Scotland, although the Armstrongs were predominately based on the Scottish side of the border. [2] Many members of the clan were granted lands in County Fermanagh and neighbouring Irish counties during the Ulster Plantations.
In Ireland the name was also adopted as an Anglicization of two Gaelic names from Ulster: Mac Thréinfhir (meaning "son of the strong man") and Ó Labhraidh Tréan (meaning "strong O'Lavery"). [3] From the name Ó Labhraidh Tréan (meaning "strong O'Lavery" and sometimes written in Anglo-Irish as "Tréanlámagh") the following surnames survive: "Trainor", Traynor", O'Lavery", "McLavery", and "MacLavery".
Although the name "Armstrong" is quite common in the Aghagallon and Glenavy area of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, the other names are to be found within the nine Ulster Counties and Scotland, especially along the west coast.
In the UK this surname is well represented in North East England, Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Scottish Borders, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway, and Northern Ireland. It is also well represented in the Deep South of the United States, and other southern states.
Donaldson is a Scottish and Irish patronymic surname meaning "son of Donald". It is a simpler Anglicized variant for the name MacDonald. Notable people with the surname include:
Blair is a Scots-English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin.
Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion". As a surname, Neil is traced back to Niall of the Nine Hostages who was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill and MacNeil kindred. Most authorities cite the meaning of Neil in the context of a surname as meaning "champion".
Archer is a surname in the English language.
Doherty is an Irish surname. It is anglicized from the Gaelic Ó Dochartaigh. Notable people and characters with the surname include:
Davidson is a patronymic surname, meaning "son/descendant of David". In the Highlands of Scotland, where the surname is an anglicised version of the Gaelic "mac Daibhidh", Clan Davidson was traditionally a sept of the Clan Chattan Confederation. There are alternate spellings, including those common in the British Isles and Scandinavia: Davidsen, Davisson, Davison, Daveson, Davidsson. While the given name comes from the Hebrew "David", meaning beloved, Davidson is rarely used as a masculine given name or nickname.
Henderson is a surname of Scottish origin. The name is derived from patronymic form of the name Henry and Hendry, which is a Scottish form of Henry. It means "Son of Hendry" and "Son of Henry". In Scottish Gaelic it is rendered MacEanraig (masculine), and NicEanraig (feminine).
Gavin is a Celtic male given name. It is the Scottish variation of the medieval Welsh name Gawain, meaning "God send" or "white hawk". Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic poem connected with King Arthur's Round Table. Gawain beheads the Green Knight who promptly replaces his head and threatens Gawain an identical fate the same time next year. Decapitation figures elsewhere: the Italian name Gavino is the name of an early Christian martyr who was beheaded in 300 AD, his head being thrown in the Mediterranean Sea only later reunited and interred with his body.
Kerr is an English and Scottish surname, a topographic name for someone who lived by a marsh or swampy woodland. Middle English kerr means ‘brushwood wet ground.’ See Clan Kerr for the Scottish origins.
The surname Burns has several origins. In some cases, it derived from the Middle English or Scots burn, and originated as a topographic name for an individual who lived by a stream. In other cases the surname is a variant form of the surname Burnhouse, which originated as a habitational name, derived from a place name made up of the word elements burn and house. In other cases the surname Burns originated as a nickname meaning "burn house". In other cases, the surname Burns is an Anglicised form of the Irish Ó Broin, which means "descendant of Bran". In some cases the surname Burns is an Americanized form of the Jewish surname Bernstein, which is derived from the German bernstein ("amber").
Barclay is a Scottish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Elliot is a personal name which can serve as either a surname or a given name. Although the given name has historically been given to males, females have increasingly been given the name as well in the United States.
Kelly is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a partially anglicised version of older Irish names and has numerous origins, most notably from the Ui Maine. In some cases it is derived from toponyms located in Ireland and Great Britain; in other cases it is derived from patronyms in the Irish language.
Simpson is an English/Scottish patronymic surname from the medieval masculine given name 'Simme', a medieval variant of 'Simon'. The earliest public record of the name was in 1353 in Staffordshire, West Midlands region of England.
Lavery, also spelled Lowry, Lowrie, Lory, Lavoy and Lowery, is an Irish surname derived from the Gaelic Ó Labhradha, meaning the "descendants of Labhradha".
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, or Alexis.
Maxwell is a Scottish surname, a habitational name derived from a location near Melrose, in Roxburghshire, Scotland. This name was first recorded in 1144, as Mackeswell, meaning "Mack's spring ". The surname Maxwell is also common in Ulster, where it has, in some cases, been adopted as alternate form of the Irish surname Miskell. The surname Maxwell is represented in Scottish Gaelic as MacSuail.
Sheridan is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic Ó Sirideáin 'descendant of Sirideáin', a given name meaning 'to seek'. Originating in County Longford, the Sheridans were erenaghs of Granard, but in the County Cavan served the O'Reillys.
Weir is a surname. It may refer to:
Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French curteis which was in turn derived from Latin cohors. Nicknames include Curt, Curty and Curtie.