McGivern History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe McGivern family name comes from a place named by the Viking settlers who arrived in the shores of Scotland in the Middle Ages. The McGivern name comes from someone having lived in east Lanarkshire, in a place probably named from the Old Norse words "bygg," meaning "barley," and "geiri," denoting a triangular plot of land. Early Origins of the McGivern familyThe surname McGivern was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland at Biggar, a parish and market-town, on the road from Dumfries to Edinburgh. "The original name of this place, as it occurs in several ancient charters, is generally written Biger, or Bigre, and is supposed to have been derived from the nature of the ground on which the castle of the family of Biggar was situated (in the centre of a soft morass), and to have been thence applied to the whole of the parish; and from the same circumstance, the castle assumed the name of Boghall. The manor was granted by David I. to Baldwin, a Flemish leader, whose descendants still retain the surname of Fleming; they appear to claim a very remote antiquity, and the name of Baldwin de Biger appears in testimony to a charter, prior to the year 1160." 1 "Baldwin de Bigir, who appears as sheriff of Lanark in the reign of Malcolm IV is the first known to bear the territorial designation. Between 1147-1160 Balwinus de Digir (Bigir) witnessed the grant by Arnold, Abbot of Kelso, of the lands of Douglas to Theobaldus Flamaticus. Sometime after 1170 Baldwin de Bigre, sheriff of Lanark, granted the church of Innyrkvp beyond the Moors (ultra mores) to the monks of Paisley. Waldeve, Baldwin's son, was taken prisoner at Alnwick along with King William the Lion in 1174. In 1228 Hugh the son of Robert de Bygris appears in a grant to St. Machute of Lesmahagow, in which he is styled Hugo de Bygris films Roberti filii Waldevi de Bigris." 2 To the south in England, one of the first records of the family was "Nicholas de Bichar" who witnesses a charter of William de Granavilla to Gateshead: and was, without doubt, the same Nicholas, mentioned in the Rot. Cur. Northumbriae, who was Lord of Byker, near Newcastle, in the reign of Henry III. This manor was anciently held in grand serjeancy, by carrying the King's writ between the rivers Tyne and Coquet, and making distresses of goods for the King's debts.- Hutchinson's Northumberland. The family continued there till 1346. Richard de Bicker was summoned to attend the great Council at Westminster in 1324.- Palgrave's Parl. Writs. "The name is found at a rather earlier date in Lincolnshire, where Gerard de Bikere occurs in the Rotul. Cancellarii of 1202, and was presumably the owner of Bicker, 'a very ancient and pleasant village, nine miles from Folkingham.' " 3 Early History of the McGivern familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our McGivern research. Another 248 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1153, 1160, 1174, 1292, 1329, 1368, 1433, 1614, 1621, 1664, 1828, 1863, 1878, 1890, 1912 and 1927 are included under the topic Early McGivern History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. McGivern Spelling VariationsContemporary spellings of ancient Scottish names often bear little resemblance to the original recorded versions. These spelling variations result from the fact that medieval scribes spelled words and names alike according to their sounds. McGivern has been spelled Biggar, Bigare, Bigger, Bigir, Bygar, McGivern, Bigger and many more. Early Notables of the McGivern familyMore information is included under the topic Early McGivern Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the McGivern family to IrelandSome of the McGivern family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
The colonies on the fertile east coast of North America soon had many farms run by Scots. These hardy settlers provided a backbone for the great nations of the United States and Canada that would emerge in the next centuries. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Scottish name McGivern or a variant listed above, including: McGivern Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
McGivern Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: McGivern Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century
Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include: McGivern Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
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