Show ContentsMacArtney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The background history of the name MacArtney starts in ancient Scotland among the Pictish people. The name MacArtney is derived from the Gaelic name Mac Cartaine, which is a variant of Mac Artain. This means son of Artan and is a diminutive of the old personal name Art.

Early Origins of the MacArtney family

The surname MacArtney was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the MacArtney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacArtney research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1630, 1651, 1660, 1672, 1690, 1692, 1703, 1713, 1714, 1724, 1727, 1730, 1737, 1757, 1760, 1770, 1792, 1793, 1797 and 1806 are included under the topic Early MacArtney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacArtney Spelling Variations

Prior to the invention of the printing press in the last hundred years, documents were basically unique. Names were written according to sound, and often appeared differently each time they were recorded. Spelling variations of the name MacArtney include MacArtney, MacCartney and others.

Early Notables of the MacArtney family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

  • MacArtney of Dumfries
  • George Macartney (1737-1806), a British statesman, colonial administrator and diplomat, who was made the 1st Earl Macartney in the Irish peerage in 1792

Ireland Migration of the MacArtney family to Ireland

Some of the MacArtney family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 138 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States MacArtney migration to the United States +

The freedom of the North American colonies was enticing, and many Scots left to make the great crossing. It was a long and hard journey, but its reward was a place where there was more land than people and tolerance was far easier to come by. Many of these people came together to fight for a new nation in the American War of Independence, while others remained loyal to the old order as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of Scots in North America have recovered much of this heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and other such organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important and early immigrants to North America bearing the name of MacArtney:

MacArtney Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • James and Jane MacArtney, who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1767
  • James Macartney, who arrived in North Carolina in 1768 [1]
MacArtney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Macartney, who landed in America in 1811 [1]
  • Nicholas MacArtney who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1838
  • Bernard, Charles, Daniel, Denis, Henry, Hugh, James, John, Patrick, Peter, Robert, Thomas and William MacArtney all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1800 and 1860

New Zealand MacArtney 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:

MacArtney Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • MissMacartney, Australian settler travelling from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia aboard the ship "Bonnie Doon" arriving in New Zealand in 1854 [2]
  • Mr. W. Macartney, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Palmyra" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 19th February 1858 [3]
  • Hugh Macartney, aged 21, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Accrington" in 1863 [2]

Contemporary Notables of the name MacArtney (post 1700) +

  • George Macartney (1737-1806), 1st Earl Macartney, Northern Ireland born, British statesman, Governor of Grenada (1776-1779), Governor of Madras (1781-1785) and Governor of Cape Colony (1797-1798)
  • Frederic O. Macartney (1864-1903), American politician, Member of Massachusetts State House of Representatives, 1900-03 [4]
  • Charles George "Charlie" Macartney (1886-1958), Australian cricketer who played in 35 Tests between 1907 and 1926
  • James Edward "Jim" Macartney (1911-1977), Australian newspaper editor and executive from Perth, Western Australia
  • James Macartney (1770-1843), Irish anatomist
  • Sir John Ralph Macartney (b. 1945), 7th Baronet of Lish in the County of Armagh, Irish peer
  • Sir John Barrington Macartney (1917-1999), 6th Baronet of Lish in the County of Armagh, Irish peer
  • Sir Alexander Miller Macartney (1869-1960), 5th Baronet of Lish in the County of Armagh, Irish peer
  • Sir William Isaac Macartney (1867-1942), 4th Baronet of Lish in the County of Armagh, Irish peer
  • Sir John Macartney (1832-1911), 3rd Baronet of Lish in the County of Armagh, Irish peer
  • ... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


The MacArtney 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: Stimulat sed ornat
Motto Translation: It stimulates, but it adorns.


  1. 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)
  2. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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