Show ContentsTry History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Ireland already had an established system of hereditary surnames when the Strongbownians arrived. Often the two traditions blended together quite well due to some of their basic similarities, but the incoming Anglo-Norman system brought in some forms that were uncommon amongst the Irish. One of these Anglo-Norman anomalies was the prevalence of local surnames, such as Try. Local names were taken from the names of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. Originally, the place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname if the place name began with a vowel or was eliminated entirely. The local surnames of these Strongbownian invaders referred to places in Normandy, or more typically England, but eventually for those Anglo-Normans that remained in Ireland, the nicknames referred to places or geographical features of the island: they became true local names. The Try family appears to have originally lived in the town of Troyes in France; the original form of the surname Try was de Troyes. The surname Try belongs to the large category of Anglo-Norman habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Try family

The surname Try was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they were granted lands by Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, after his conquest of Ireland in 1172. They were recruited from the family of Try in Gloucester where they were Lords of the manor of Alkington. The family is said to be amongst the highest orders of French nobility.

Early History of the Try family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Try research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1660, 1690, 1698, 1702, 1705, 1717, 1739 and 1823 are included under the topic Early Try History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Try Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name Try revealed many spelling variations including Troye, Troy, Try, Trye, Trohy, Trohey, Troys, Troyes, O'Trahy, O'Trahey, O'Trehy, O'Trehey and many more.

Early Notables of the Try family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

  • William Trye (1660-1717), of Hardwicke, Gloucestershire, an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Gloucester (1690-1698) and (1702-1705)


Australia Try migration to Australia +

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

Try Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Charles Try, (b. 1835), aged 22, Cornish farm labourer travelling aboard the ship "Herefordshire" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 27th May 1857 [1]

New Zealand Try 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:

Try Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Minnie Try, (b. 1859), aged 17, Cornish nursemaid departing on 27th October 1876 aboard the ship "Waipa" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 24th January 1877 [2]


  1. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_nsw_1850_59.pdf
  2. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf


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