Grew History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

All Irish surnames have underlying meanings that can be traced back to their fullest points when the names first appeared in a Gaelic form. The name Grew originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Graith or Mag Raith; these are both derived from the personal name Craith which literally means "to weave" and in this case is an occupational name too. The Mac or Mc prefix would denote "son of the weaver." 1

Anciently the family claim descent through O'Sullivan Mor which explains the stag (or antelope) in the fourth quarter of the shield. In turn, the O'Sullivans descend from the Heber line of Irish kings. 1

Early Origins of the Grew family

The surname Grew was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times. They were the hereditary poets to the O'Briens of Thomond. The family is still found here, but present day descendants usually hail from Tipperary and Waterford. Another branch was located at Termon MacGrath on the borders of Donegal and Fermanagh. 2

The MacGraths were Chiefs in the County of Waterford since very early times. A sub-branch was located at Ballynagilty in Waterford where Philip MacGrath was the progenitor. 1

This latter branch of the family produced Thomas McGrath of Ardagh, near Youhal, co. Cork who had four sons and twelve daughters. Thomas was descended from the Ulster M'Graths of Clanaboy, who were of the race of Clan Colla and were men of influence in County Waterford. Two of the sons emigrated to the Americas: Alderman Thomas McGrath of Montreal (died 1864); and Denis MacGrath of New York (died in 1846.) 1

Early History of the Grew family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grew research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1067, 1097, 1172, 1240, 1389, 1395, 1400, 1415, 1421, 1423, 1433, 1450, 1460, 1463, 1523, 1580, 1600, 1622 and 1650 are included under the topic Early Grew History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grew Spelling Variations

The recording of names in Ireland in the Middle Ages was an inconsistent endeavor at best. The standardized literary languages of today were not yet reached the general citizenry. Research into the name Grew revealed spelling variations, including MacGrath, MacGraw, MacGrauth, Magrath, Magraw and many more.

Early Notables of the Grew family

Notable among the family name at this time was Miler MacGrath (1523-1622), Archbishop of Cashel. Seán mac Ruaidhri Mac Craith (fl. 14th-century), later known as John Macrory Magrath, was an Irish historian known as the author of Caithréim Thoirdhealbhaigh.Mathghamhain Mág Raith, was Bishop of Killaloe, (1389-1400) and Donatus Mág Raith, O.S.A., was Bishop of Killaloe (1400-1421.) Continuing this line was Thaddaeus Mág Raith I, Bishop of Killaloe (1423-1433) and Thaddaeus Mág Raith II, Bishop of Killaloe, (1460-1463.) Miler Magrath (1523?-1622)...
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Grew Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grew migration to Australia +

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

Grew Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Robert Grew, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life , transported aboard the "Commodore Hayes" in April 1823, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Grew (post 1700) +

Joseph Grew (1880-1965), American diplomat, 5th and 13th United States Under Secretary of State, 13th United States Ambassador to Japan
Henry Grew (1781-1862), English-born, American Christian teacher from Birmingham
Joseph Clark Grew (1880-1965), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, 1927-32; Japan, 1932-38 4
Mark Stuart Grew (b. 1958), English former football player and coach who played as a goalkeeper

Citations +

O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th March 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/commodore-hayes
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html