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Pettigrew History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Pettigrew History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

The name Pettigrew comes from the ancient Norman culture that was established in Britain after the Conquest of 1066. It was a name for a small man. The name was originally derived from the Old French words "petit," meaning "small or little," and "cru," meaning "growth." Alternatively, the name could have be Anglo-French in origin from "pee de grue," meaning "foot of a crane." In this case, it would have been a nickname literally meaning "Crane-Foot." 1

Another source notes the was at one time "Petygrerve," but he believed the name is in reality derived from the manor of Pettigrew, near Gerans, in Cornwall. 2

On this latter source, we feel compelled to add the comments of P.H. Reaney: "The common belief that this name derives from a place in Cornwall is clearly untenable. There is no place of that name in that county, early forms have no preposition, and come from the eastern countries. Nor can the name be identical with 'pedigree' Fr: 'ped de grue' 'crane-foot'. " 3 While we are hesitant to give an added opinion to this squabble, we would add that we too could not find any place so named in Cornwall.

Reaney goes on to note that the first record of the name that he could find was in the Assize Rolls of Essex in 1227 where Andrew Peticruw was listed at that time. Richard and Roger Peticruw was listed in the Assize Rolls of Essex and Staffordshire in 1283 and 1298. 3

Despite the aforementioned, the name is generally understood to have a closer affinity to Scotland than England as we shall explore later.

Early Origins of the Pettigrew family

The surname Pettigrew was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow.

One of the first records of the name was Thomas Petykreu of the county of Lanark, who rendered homage to King Edward I of England in 1296. "John Petty grew witnessed the promulgation of a papal bull at Linlithgow in 1461. A booth was leased to John Pedecrw in 1488 for half a mark, and the same year, as John Pethecrew, he was made a burgess of Lanark." 4

Early History of the Pettigrew family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pettigrew research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1497, 1515, 1518, 1791, 1865 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Pettigrew History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pettigrew Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Pettigrew, Pettegrew, Pettergrew and others.

Early Notables of the Pettigrew family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Thomas Joseph Pettigrew (1791-1865), sometimes known as "Mummy" Pettigrew, a surgeon and antiquarian who became an expert on Ancient Egyptian mummies...

Pettigrew Ranking

In the United States, the name Pettigrew is the 4,416^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Pettigrew family to Ireland

Some of the Pettigrew family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 79 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pettigrew migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Pettigrew name or one of its variants:

Pettigrew Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Charles Pettigrew, who landed in North Carolina in 1775 6
John Pettigrew, who landed in Georgia in 1775 6

Pettigrew Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Pettigrew, who settled in Boston in 1822
Patrick Pettigrew, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1853 6
William J Pettigrew, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1854 6
Sarah Pettigrew, aged 12, who arrived in New York, NY in 1855 6
James Pettigrew, who settled in Philadelphia in 1855
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Pettigrew Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Thomas J Pettigrew, who landed in Arkansas in 1901 6
Samuel J Pettigrew, who landed in Mississippi in 1902 6

Pettigrew migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pettigrew Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Robert Pettigrew, aged 18, who arrived in Quebec in 1834

Pettigrew migration to Australia +

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

Pettigrew Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Pettigrew, Scottish convict who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Henry Tanner" on 27th June 1834, settling in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. David Pettigrew, (b. 1817), aged 24, Scottish ploughman from Lanarkshire, Scotland departing on 8th July 1841 from Greenock, Scotland aboard the ship "New York Packet" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 23rd October 1841 8

Pettigrew 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:

Pettigrew Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Pettigrew, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Storm Cloud" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 30th July 1861 9
Mrs. Pettigrew, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Storm Cloud" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 30th July 1861 9
Child Pettigrew, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Storm Cloud" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 30th July 1861 9
Miss Elizabeth Pettigrew, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Sevilla" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 4th September 1864 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Pettigrew (post 1700) +

Samuel Pettigrew, American politician, 7th Mayor of Pittsburgh (1832-1836)
Richard Franklin Pettigrew (1848-1926), American lawyer, surveyor, and land developer, United States Senator from South Dakota (1889-1901)
Brandon Pettigrew (b. 1985), American NFL football player for the Detroit Lions
Antonio Pettigrew (1967-2010), American Olympic gold medalist
James Johnston Pettigrew (1828-1863), American Civil War brigadier general
James Bell Pettigrew MD FRS FRSE FRCPE (1834-1908), Scottish naturalist and museum curator
Willie Pettigrew (b. 1953), former Scottish international soccer player
John Douglas "Jack" Pettigrew (b. 1943), Emeritus Professor of Physiology and Director of the Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Center at the University of Queensland in Australia
Sir Russell Hilton Pettigrew (1920-2015), New Zealand businessman and philanthropist, founder of transport company Freightways Ltd
Thomas Joseph Pettigrew (1791-1865), nicknamed "Mummy" Pettigrew, English surgeon and antiquarian who became an expert on Ancient Egyptian mummies
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Pettigrew 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: Sine sole nihil
Motto Translation: Nothing without the sun.

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. 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)
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)
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/henry-tanner
Ship Voyages to New South Wales (Retrieved 18th November 2020). Retrieved from http://indexes.records.nsw.gov.au/ebook/list.aspx?Page=NRS5316/4_4782/New%20York%20Packet_23%20Oct%201841/4_478200095.jpg&No=220
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html