Armstrong (surname)

Last updated
Armstrong
Origin
MeaningSon of a strong man
Region of originNorth East England, Scotland, Ireland

Armstrong is a surname of English and Scottish borders origin.

Contents

History

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.

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References

  1. Lower, Mark Antony (1844), "Historical Surnames", Essays on family nomenclature, historical, etymological and humorous: with chapters of rebuses and canting arms, the roll of Battel abbey, a list of latinized surnames, &c., &c. (Google Books), Essays on English Surnames (2nd ed.), London: John Russell Smith, p. 212, OCLC   674415725 , retrieved 1 Jan 2012
  2. Dobson, David (2003), The Scottish Surnames of Colonial America (Google Books), Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, pp. 4–5, ISBN   0-8063-5209-4, OCLC   52732092 , retrieved 1 Jan 2012
    Additional OCLC records exist for same book.
  3. "Dictionary of American Family Names". Oxford University Press . Retrieved 2011-06-17.