Nair History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

The roots of the name Nair are found among the Pictish clans of ancient Scotland. The name comes from the personal name John. The Gaelic form of their name was originally Mac-Iain-uidhir, which means son of dun John. However, the Nair family of Perth traditionally derive their name from M'an-oighre, which means son of the heir. Experts have also theorized that the surname Nair may be derived from Mac-an-fhuibir, which means son of the smith, or Mac-an-huidhir, which means son of the stranger.

Early Origins of the Nair family

The surname Nair was first found in Perth, 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.

Further to the south in England, the Menaire, Menear, Manhire and other variants claim descent from Walter Maenhir who was listed in Devon in 1293. The very rare variant Manhire traces back to Ellis Menheire who was listed in Devon in 1642. 1

Early History of the Nair family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nair research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1392, 1526, 1546, 1776 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Nair History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nair Spelling Variations

Although Medieval Scotland lacked a basic set of spelling rules, which meant that scribes recorded names according to their sounds it was not uncommon for the names of a father and son to be recorded differently. As a result, there are many spelling variations of Scottish single names. Nair has been written MacNair, MacNaire, MacNayer, MacNeir, MacNuir, Menair and many more.

Early Notables of the Nair family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

Andrew MacNair, who tolled the first Liberty Bell in Philadelphia in July 4th, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed

Nair World Ranking

In the United States, the name Nair is the 10,042^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in New Zealand, the name Nair is ranked the 999^th most popular surname with an estimated 757 people with that name. 3 And in South Africa, the name Nair is the 979^th popular surname with an estimated 6,986 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Nair family to Ireland

Some of the Nair family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nair migration to the United States +

Thousands of Scots left their home country to travel to Ireland or Australia, or to cross the Atlantic for the North American colonies. The difficult crossing was an enormous hurdle, but those who survived found freedom and opportunity in ample measure. Some Scots even fought for their freedom in the American War of Independence. This century, their ancestors have become aware of the illustrious history of the Scots in North America and at home through Clan societies and other organizations. Passenger and immigration lists show many early and influential immigrants bearing the name Nair:

Nair Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Philip Nair, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1741 5

Nair Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. Nair, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1821 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Nair (post 1700) +

Lois V. Nair (1904-1988), American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 14th District, 1958, 1960, 1962; Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1964
Frank B. Nair, American Republican politician, Candidate for Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention from Macomb County 1st District, 1961
David L. Nair, American Republican politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from New Britain, 1932
Chandran Nair (1945-2023), Singaporean poet and Director and Mediator of UNESCO in Paris
M. Krishnan Nair (1939-2021), Indian oncologist, founding director of the Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, a director of the S.U.T. Institute of Oncology, and Trivandrum Cancer Center(TCC)
S. Ramesan Nair (1948-2021), Indian lyricist and poet
Patrick Nair (1932-2017), Indian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Meerut (1974–2008)

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
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)