Contents [hide]

McGeorge History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

McGeorge History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname McGeorge came from the given name of the father and was typically denoted as "the son of George." The personal name George was originally derived from the Greek word which means someone who was a farmer or someone who worked the land. 1

Another source claims a Norman influence as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists Richard and William de St. Georgio in Normandy as well as Robert, William, Ralph de St. Georgio were listed there 1180-1195. 2

Interestingly, one source notes the variant Georges was of some note, particularly in Ireland: "Of the family planted by the Georges of Hastings, branches spread over the counties of Hertford, Dorset, Somerset, and Wilts. In the last named shires it was seated at Longford, and possessed so influential a position, that Sir Edward Georges, of Longford, obtained a baronetcy in 1612, and was afterwards raised to the peerage of Ireland, as Baron Georges, of Dundalk. " 3

The Charge variant is derived from "Gardge, Gordge, Gorges, or Gaurges, from Gaurges in the Cotentin. Ralph de Gorges married the heiress of Morville, and acquired her estates in Dorset. Raoulde Gorges, married an heiress of Morville, and had the manors of Wraxall and Bradpole, cos. Dorset and Somerset, and was sheriff of Devonshire." 4 2 "The chateau de Gorges, one of whose lords was at the battle of Hastings, stands in the parish of the same name, in the canton of Periers, department of La Manche, Normandy." 4

Early Origins of the McGeorge family

The surname McGeorge was first found in Dorset where it is noted as a somewhat rare name in mediaeval records. The popularity of the name increased during the Crusades which brought more contact with the Orthodox Church. St. George, who slew his famous dragon in 303 A.D., may have inspired the use of this name.

In 1348, Edward III founded the Order of the Garter under the patronage of St. George and by 1415, a yearly festival was set in place that continues today. Today, St. George is considered the patron saint of England.

One of the first records was Hugo filius Georgii who was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1222 in Norfolk. 5

By the time of the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the name was scattered throughout ancient England and Wales. Those rolls listed: Robert Gorge in Oxfordshire; William Gorge in Cambridgeshire; and Jeorgius Clericus in Lincolnshire. 6

Guppy notes the "name at present most numerous in Monmouthshire, and after that in South Wales. Bare in the south coast counties, excepting Cornwall, and in the north of England, north of the Wash and the Dee." 7

Further to the north in Scotland, the name appeared later as "it was a not uncommon surname in Prestwick in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Archibald George appears as burgess and councillor of Irvine, 1597." 8

Early History of the McGeorge family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McGeorge research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1412, 1471, 1511, 1566, 1594, 1625, 1626, 1640, 1644, 1647, 1674, 1677, 1678, 1690, 1700, 1797 and 1890 are included under the topic Early McGeorge History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McGeorge Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the McGeorge family name include George, Gorge, Gorges, Georgeson and others.

Early Notables of the McGeorge family

Distinguished members of the family include John George (1594-1677), an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1626 and 1678.Sir Ferdinando Gorges (1566?-1647), was an "English naval and military commander, Governor of Plymouth, the 'Father of English Colonisation in America,' of a family said to have been settled in Somersetshire from the time of Henry I, and holding estates in the parish of Wraxall from the time of Edward II, was the younger son of Edward Gorges of Wraxall." 9Sir Arthur Gorges (d. 1625), was an...
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McGeorge Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McGeorge Ranking

In the United States, the name McGeorge is the 13,221^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 10

Migration of the McGeorge family to Ireland

Some of the McGeorge family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McGeorge migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the McGeorge surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

McGeorge Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anna McGeorge, who landed in New York in 1774 11

McGeorge Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Sarah McGeorge, who arrived in New York in 1826 11
Thomas McGeorge, who landed in New York in 1836 11
John McGeorge, who landed in New York in 1836 11

McGeorge migration to Australia +

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

McGeorge Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Alexander McGeorge, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Camilla" in 1849 12

Contemporary Notables of the name McGeorge (post 1700) +

Rich McGeorge (b. 1948), American NFL football player for the Green Bay Packers, inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame
Missie McGeorge (b. 1959), American LPGA golfer
Jerry McGeorge (b. 1945), American musician, best known for his work with the Chicago rock band The Shadows of Knight
Harvey John "Jack" McGeorge II (1949-2009), American Marine and Secret Service agent
Don W. McGeorge (b. 1954), American businessman, President and COO of Kroger
W. L. McGeorge, American politician, Mayor of Corning, New York, 1900 13
Mr. Douglas Donald McGeorge M.B.E. (b. 1957), British plastic surgeon was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for voluntary and charitable services through the Prince’s Trust, the Centre for Social Justice and The Healing Foundation 14
Alexander Crow McGeorge (1868-1953), New Zealand engineer and businessman
Lee McGeorge Durrell MBE (b. 1949), American naturalist, author, zookeeper and television presenter
McGeorge "Mac" Bundy (1919-1996), United States National Security Advisor to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Citations +

Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CAMILLA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Camilla.gif
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 4 July 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1