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Carnegie History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Carnegie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

The chronicles of the Carnegie family reach back into Scottish history to an ancient tribe known as the Picts. The ancestors of the Carnegie family lived in the old barony of Carnegie in Angus. One of the first records of the name was Duthac de Carnegy who witnessed a deed of sale in Aberdeen in 1383.

Early Origins of the Carnegie family

The surname Carnegie was first found in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), part of the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire, where the was recorded as a family of great antiquity seated at Carnegie in the parish of Carmyllis in that shire. Confirmation of the grant of lands of Cairynegy was made by King David of Scotland in 1358 to then Chief of the Clan John Carnegie. He was descended from Jocelyn of Balinhard who was the progenitor of the family.

The former name of the Carnegies of Southesk was De Balinhard, but they assumed the name Carnegie in 1340 when they acquired the lands of Carnegie. Although the Clan can claim their initial descent from John de Balinhard, one of the first mentions of the name Carnegie was of Duthaac de Carnegy in 1383. A few years late, John Carnegy was the first of the name designated 'dominus ejusdem' or 'de eodem,' which is Anglicized to the expression 'of that Ilk' in 1450.

The line of descent from John de Balinhard died out in the 16th century, and so a new line was taken from his son Duthac. In 1663, David, the eighth Chief, was created the Earl of Southesk. Later, James Carnegie, the fifth Earl of Southesk was present at the raising of the Standard on the Braes of Mar in 1715 and was the hero of the song "The Piper o' Dundee." His support for King James in the rising of 1715 and the defeat of the Jacobites lead eventually to the loss of the earldom. The Carnegies were generally loyal to the Stewart claim to the throne. Interestingly, Sir Alexander Cornegie of Pitarro managed to somehow have the earldom reinstated, and he became the ninth Earl of Southesk. Another branch of the family began the earldom of Ethie, and later managed to have it renamed the Earldom of Northesk in the 17th century.

Early History of the Carnegie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Carnegie research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1409, 1530, 1575, 1583, 1611, 1627, 1643, 1649, 1658, 1661, 1667, 1669, 1674, 1679, 1681, 1682, 1685, 1686, 1688, 1699, 1700 and 1729 are included under the topic Early Carnegie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carnegie Spelling Variations

When the first dictionaries were invented in the last few hundred years, spelling gradually became standardized. Before that time, scribes spelled according to sound. Names were often recorded under different spelling variations every time they were written. Carnegie has been written Carnegie, Carnechie, Carnegey, Carnagie, Carnagee and many more.

Early Notables of the Carnegie family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

Sir David Carnegie, 1st Earl of Southesk, 1st Baron Carnegie of Kinnaird, 1st Baron Carnegie, of Kinnaird and Leuchards (1575-1658), a Scottish nobleman
James Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Southesk (ca. 1583-1669), a Scottish nobleman
Robert Carnegie, 3rd Earl of Southesk (c.1649-1688)
Charles Carnegie, 4th Earl of Southesk (1661-1699)
John Carnegie, 1st Earl of Northesk (1611-1667), a Scottish noble who supported the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
David Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Northesk (c.1627-1679)
David Carnegie, 3rd Earl of Northesk (1643-1688)
David Carnegie, 4th Earl of Northesk (1685-1729)

Carnegie Ranking

In the United States, the name Carnegie is the 17,010^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Carnegie migration to the United States +

The crossing to North America did not seem so great in comparison with the hardships many Scots endured at home. It was long, expensive, and cramped, but also rewarding. North America offered land and the chance for settlers to prove themselves in a new place. And many did prove themselves as they fought to forge a new nation in the American War of Independence. The ancestors of those Scots can now experience much of their once-lost heritage through the Clan societies and highland games that have sprung up across North America in the last century. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Carnegie:

Carnegie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Carnegie, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1848 2
Brisbane J H Carnegie, aged 19, who arrived in New York in 1869 2

Carnegie migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Carnegie Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

David Carnegie, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749

Carnegie migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Carnegie Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Fyfe Dal Carnegie, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1843
John de la Condamine Carnegie, aged 19, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Philip Laing" in 1848
Emma Sarah Carnegie, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Philip Laing" in 1848
Mr. John de la Coudamine Carnegie, Scottish settler travelling from Greenock aboard the ship "Philip Laing" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 15th April 1848 3
Mrs. Carnegie, Scottish settler travelling from Greenock listed with a servant aboard the ship "Philip Laing" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 15th April 1848 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Carnegie (post 1700) +

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist, and the founder of the Carnegie Steel Company which later became U.S. Steel, by the time he died, Carnegie had given away US$350,695,653
Mary Elizabeth Carnegie (1916-2008), American educator and author in the field of nursing
Dale Carnegie (1888-1955), American writer and the developer of his famous courses in self-improvement
James Carnegie KT (1827-1905), 9th Earl of Southesk, known as Sir James Carnegie of Kinnaird and of Pitcarrow, Scottish nobleman
Sir James Carnegie of Kinnaird and of Pitcarrow, DL (1799-1849), 5th Baronet, was a Scottish politician
Sir James Carnegie of Pitcarrow (1716-1765), 3rd Baronet, a Scottish politician
Sir David Carnegie of Pitcarrow (1753-1805), 4th Baronet, a Scottish politician
Sir David Carnegie of Pitcarrow (b. 1708), 1st Baronet, a Scottish politician and baronet
David John MacRae Carnegie (1954-2010), 14th Earl of Northesk, styled Lord Rosehill between 1975 and 1994, Scottish peer, landowner and member of the House of Lords
Robert Andrew Carnegie (1926-1994), 13th Earl of Northesk, Scottish representative peer
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Carnegie family +

HMS Royal Oak

Alexander Kiddie Carnegie (1915-1939), British Leading Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 4

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html