Contents [hide]

Cawley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Cawley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The Scottish/English Borderlands and their proud Boernician clans are the ancestral home of the Cawley family. Their name is derived from the son of Amalghaidh, (an old Irish personal name). The distinguished name Cawley is derived from the Gaelic name MacAmhalghaidh and was generally found in Dumbartonshire. Alternatively, the name could have come from the Gaelic name MacAmhlaibh or MacAmhaidh, which means son of Amlaib and in this case, the name was originally derived from the Norse King Olafr. This latter branch was generally found in the Hebrides.

Early Origins of the Cawley family

The surname Cawley was first found in at Ardencaple, in Dumbartonshire. Ardencaple "cape of the horses," was the ancestral home of the Lairds of Ardencaple and is located on the shores of the Gare Loch, in the historical district of Lennox, county Dumbarton. They were one of the Clans of MacAlpine.

The history of the MacAulay Clan is particularly complex as there are two distinct branches, in addition to an infusion of MacAulays during the reign of Robert the Bruce. The name of Aulay, brother of the Earl of Lennox, is found on the Ragman Rolls, which confirms his pledge of allegiance to King Edward I of England. This branch entered into a bond of manrent with MacGregor of Glenstrae in 1591.

The second branch of this Clan is that of the MacAulays of the Isle of Lewis. These Clansmen claimed descent from Aula (Olaf the Black), who was a thirteenth-century king of the Isles. Their lands were traditional centered around Uig. This branch was probably related to the numerous MacAulays of Ross and Sutherland.

Finally, some members of a branch of the MacAulay Clann from Ireland were invited by Robert the Bruce to Scotland to help in his wars against the English. These last MacAulays may be ancient relatives to those of Ardincaple, Dumbartonshire. It was some while later that the MacAulays were first recognized as a Clan.

Early History of the Cawley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cawley research. Another 54 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1595, 1767 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Cawley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cawley Spelling Variations

Before the printing press and the first dictionaries appeared, names and other words were often spelled differently every time they were written. Cawley has appeared under the variations MacAuly, MacAwley, MacAuley, MacAullay, MacAulley, MacAwlay, MacCaulay, MacCawley, MacGawley, Magawley, Cauley, Caulay, McCamley and many more.

Early Notables of the Cawley family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was the 'MacCawlis' who appear on the roll of Broken Clans in 1595. Their fortunes fell, the last of their lands of...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cawley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cawley Ranking

In the United States, the name Cawley is the 7,289^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Cawley family to Ireland

Some of the Cawley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cawley migration to the United States +

The Scots who crossed the Atlantic were often on the run from poverty as well as persecution. They brought little with them, and often had nothing of their home country to hand down to their children. In the 20th century, Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations have helped the ancestors of Boernician Scots to recover their lost national legacy. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Cawley were among those contributors:

Cawley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Will Cawley, who arrived in Virginia in 1661 2
Robert Cawley, who landed in New England in 1662 2
Hugh Cawley, who landed in Virginia in 1698 2

Cawley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Cawley, aged 18, who arrived in New York in 1854 2

Cawley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cawley Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Miss. Ellen Cawley, aged 1 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Emigrant" departing 11th August 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 3rd October 1847 but she died on board 3
Miss. Francis Cawley, aged 6 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Wolfyille" departing 25th April 1847 from Sligo, Ireland; the ship arrived on 10th June 1847 but she died on board 3
Mr. John Cawley, aged 3 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Wolfyille" departing 25th April 1847 from Sligo, Ireland; the ship arrived on 10th June 1847 but he died on board 3

Cawley migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Cawley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Henry Albion Benjamin Cawley, who arrived in Glenelg Roads aboard the ship "Pestonjee Bomanjee" in 1838 4
Mr. Robert Cawley, (b. 1797), aged 46, English convict who was convicted in Taunton, Somerset, England for 10 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Cressy" on 28th April 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Cawley (post 1700) +

Joseph Gaynor Cawley (1941-2021), American politician, Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1981-2006), and former professional baseball player
James "Jim" Cawley (b. 1969), American politician, 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, from 2011 to 2015
Tucker Cawley, American three-time Emmy Award winning television comedy writer and producer
Rex Cawley (b. 1940), American Olympic gold medalist hurdler at the 1964 Summer Olympics
James Cawley (b. 1967), American actor, best known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in the fan film series Star Trek: Phase II
Charles M. Cawley (1941-2015), American businessman and founding member of the bank MBNA
Richard Cawley (b. 1947), English food writer, chef and fashion designer
Captain Harold Thomas Cawley (1878-1915), British barrister, Liberal Party politician and soldier killed in World War I, second son of Frederick Cawley, 1st Baron Cawley
Frederick Cawley PC, JP (1850-1937), 1st Baron Cawley, British businessman and Liberal Party politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1916-1918)
Shirley Cawley (b. 1932), British Olympic bronze medalist long jumper in the 1952 Summer Olympics
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Cawley family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Thomas J Cawley, British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 6

Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie)

Richard Anthony Cawley (1945-1988), American Businessman from New York, New York, America, who flew aboard the Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, known as the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and died 7

SS Caribou

Mr. Preston H. Cawley, (Cowley), British passenger who was naval stores inspector from Montreal, Quebec was travelling aboard the railway ferry "SS Caribou" when it was struck by a German submarine torpedo on 14th October 1942, the most significant sinking in Canadian waters at that time, he died in the sinking

The Cawley Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Dulce Periculum
Motto Translation: Danger is sweet

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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 69)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The PESTONJEE BOMANJEE 1838. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1838PestonjeeBomanjee.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st May 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cressy
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Pan Am Flight 103's victims: A list of those killed 25 years ago | syracuse.com. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/pan_am_flight_103s_victims_a_list_of_those_killed_25_years_ago.html