Shankey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

In ancient Scotland, Shankey was first used as a surname by the descendants of the Boernician tribe. It was a name for a person with long legs, or a peculiar manner of gait. Shankey is a nickname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress. It derives from the Old English word sceanca, which means shin bone, or leg. While this word has survived in Scotland, it has been replaced in England, by the Old Norse word leggr, which means leg.

"Shank, in Scotland, is a topographical word, meaning the projecting point of a hill. The family existed in early times in Mid-Lothian, the founder being Murdoch Schank, who is said to have discovered, and taken charge of, the body of Alexander III., King of Scotland, who met his death while hunting in 1286. For this service, Robert Bruce presented him with the lands of Castlerigg." 1

Early Origins of the Shankey family

The surname Shankey was first found in Midlothian, from the lands of Shank, where the family held a family seat from very ancient times. 2 3

They were designated as 'Shank of that Ilk" meaning an ancient Clan who possessed lands of that same name. Murdoch Shank, son of the first recorded chief of the Clan of Shank in MidLothian, was granted the lands of Kinghorn in Fife by a Charter from King Robert the Bruce of Scotland in the year 1319 for his allegiance and loyalty of the clan in his fight for the crown of Scotland. 4

"Thomas Schankis witnessed a charter in the Castle of Cumnock, 1426, and in 1474 John de Schankis appears as charter witness in Glasgow. Stene Schanx, witness in Lanark. 1488, appears two years later as Stene Synkis, and in 1489 James Schankis had remission for his part in holding Dunbertane Castle against the king." 4

Early History of the Shankey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shankey research. Another 209 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1426, 1489, 1490, 1503, 1508, 1595, 1599, 1620, 1630, 1635, 1636, 1643, 1712, 1725, 1740, 1758, 1766, 1771, 1776, 1823 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Shankey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shankey Spelling Variations

Scribes in the Middle Ages, and simply spelled according to sound. The result is an enormous number of spelling variations among names that evolved in that era. Shankey has been spelled Shank, Shanke, Schank, Schanke, Shankis, Schankis, Shanks, Shanx, Schanx and many more.

Early Notables of the Shankey family

Notable amongst the family at this time was John Shank, also spelled Shanke or Shanks (died 1636), an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a leading comedian in the King's Men during the 1620s and 1630s. A long time resident in St. Giles's, Cripplegate, "he speaks of himself in 1635 as an old man, and affirms that he was originally in the company of Lord Pembroke, and afterwards in the companies of Queen Elizabeth, James I, and Charles I. This would place his first appearance in the sixteenth century. " 5John Schank (1740-1823), the Scottish admiral, born in 1740, son of Alexander...
Another 153 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shankey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Shankey family to Ireland

Some of the Shankey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shankey migration to the United States +

Most of the Boernician-Scottish families who came to North America settled on the eastern seaboard of what would become the United States and Canada. Families who wanted a new order stayed south in the War of Independence, while those who were still loyal to the crown went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In the 20th century, the ancestors of these families have gone on to rediscover their heritage through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Shankey or a variant listed above:

Shankey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert Shankey, aged 5, who landed in America in 1822 6
Miss Margaret Shankey, aged 16, Irish settler who arrived in New York in 1846 aboard the ship "Stephen Whitney"
Mr. Thomas Shankey, aged 22, Irish labourer who arrived in New York in 1846 aboard the ship "Stephen Whitney"
John Shankey, aged 30, who arrived in New York, NY in 1850 6

Shankey migration to Australia +

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

Shankey Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Alexander Shankey, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "John Mitchell" in 1849 7

The Shankey 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: Spero
Motto Translation: I hope.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
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
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) The JOHN MITCHELL 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849JohnMitchell.htm