Pirrie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Pirrie was first found in Aberdeenshire and Banff, where it is "a common surname. Many generations of Piries have lived at Iriewells in the parish of Udny, and there was an old family of Pyrrie in Paisley dating from the end of the fifteenth century. John Pirre was burgess of Glasgow in 1550, Adam Peine, tailzeour in Inverness, 1625, James Pirie appears in Bogmyln in 1633. William Pirrhie was retoured heir of David Pirrhie in Nuik, 1602." 1

Further to the south in England, the name literally means "dweller by a Pear-Tree" from the Middle English "pirie, pyrie," Old English "pirige, purige." 2 Another source claims the name means "a pear-orchard. The forms in Hundredorum Rolls are De la Pirie, and Ate Pyrie. Pirrie, in Lowland Scotland, means trim; nice in dress; precise in manner; also, having a tripping manner in walking; walking with a spring. " 3

Early English rolls provide us a glimpse of the spelling variations used through Medieval times. Today we typically need to look beyond the spellings of these entries and concentrate on a phonetic appreciation of the names. The Pipe Rolls of 1176 included an entry for Henry de Peri, de Piri in Staffordshire. The same person was listed in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1199. Richard Pirie was found in the Pipe Rolls for Kent in 1198 and later, William de la Purie was listed in Somerset in 1243 according to the Assize Rolls of that time. Later again, Gilbert atte Pyrie was found in the Feet of Fines for Surrey in 1263 and Richard del Piry was listed in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1381. Finally, Richard atte Perye was listed in Sussex in 1392. 4

Delving further into the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, we found: Geoffrey de la Pirie, Cambridgeshire; Robert del Pirie, Oxfordshire; and William de la Pirie, Salop (Shropshire.) 5