Clunie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

In Scottish history, few names go farther back than Clunie, whose ancestors lived among the clans of the Pictish tribe. They lived in the lands of Clunie in Stormont, Perthshire. "This place, which is of remote antiquity, is distinguished as the scene of a battle between the Caledonians and the Romans under Agricola. In a field near the Hill of Gourdie, are still remaining several mounds, in a parallel direction, separated by trenches of equal length, called the "Steeds Stalls;" and here the advanced guard of the Caledonian army was posted to watch the movements of the Roman army, which was encamped on the plains of Inchtuthill, about two miles to the south." 1

Early Origins of the Clunie family

The surname Clunie was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) where "William de Clonin witnessed a confirmation charter by Alexander II to the Abbey of Arbroath c. 1214-1218. The ward of Eugene de Cluny is referred to in 1263. William de Cluny of Perthshire rendered homage in 1296, and appears again on an inquest at Perth in 1304. Another William de Cluny, chaunteur of Breghyn in the county of Strivelyn, also rendered homage in that year and is mentioned again in 1305 as Sir William de Clony, chaplain to the bishop of Brechin. Adam Cluny of Fifeshire also rendered homage in 1296, and John de Cloni or de Cloney of Fife was one of the Scots prisoners taken at Dunbar Castle in the same year." 2

The mentions of "rendered homage" in the preceding paragraph refers to King Edward I of England's intrusion into Scotland.

Cluny is a parish in the district of Kincardine O'Neil, county of Aberdeen "The name of this place, signifying, in Gaelic, meadows interspersed with rising grounds, is descriptive of the appearance of the locality." 1

Early History of the Clunie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clunie research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1214, 1296, 1616, 1686, 1757, 1784, 1787, 1790, 1791 and 1819 are included under the topic Early Clunie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clunie Spelling Variations

The arts of spelling and translation were yet in their infancies when surnames began, so there are an enormous number of spelling variations of the names in early Scottish records. This is a particular problem with Scottish names because of the numerous times a name might have been loosely translated to English from Gaelic and back. Clunie has been spelled Clunie, Clooney, Cloon, Cloone, Clowney, Clune, Cluney, Clunis and many more.

Early Notables of the Clunie family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

John Clunie (1757?-1819), "the supposed author of the beautiful Scotch [(Scottish)] song 'I lo'e na a laddie but ane,' born about 1757. He was educated for the church of Scotland, and licensed by the...
he was also chaplain of the eastern regiment of Midlothian volunteer infantry. His reputation for the rendering of Scotch led to an a uaintanceshi with Burns, who highly appreciated his singing. He al...

Clunie migration to the United States +

This oppression forced many Scots to leave their homelands. Most of these chose North America as their destination. Although the journey left many sick and poor, these immigrants were welcomed the hardy with great opportunity. Many of these settlers stood up for their newfound freedom in the American War of Independence. More recently, Scots abroad have recovered much of their collective heritage through highland games and other patriotic functions and groups. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has located various settlers bearing the name Clunie:

Clunie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Clunie who settled in Philadelphia in 1810
Alicia Clunie, who landed in New York in 1823 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Clunie (post 1700) +

Thomas Jefferson Clunie (1852-1903), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California (1889-1891)
Robert Clunie (1895-1984), Scottish-born, American plein air landscape painter
Michelle Renee Clunie (b. 1969), American actress
Thomas Jefferson Clunie (1852-1903), American Democratic Party politician, Member of California State Senate, 1887-89; U.S. Representative from California 5th District, 1889-91; Defeated, 1890 4
Jim Clunie (1933-2003), Scottish footballer and manager
David Clunie (b. 1948), Scottish former professional footballer who played from 1966 to 1978 and for the Scottish League XI and Scotland U23 National Teams (1969-1970)
John Clunie (1757-1819), Scottish writer of the beautiful Scottish song ‘I lo’e na a laddie but ane’ 5
James Clunie (1889-1974), British Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament for Dunfermline Burghs (1950-1959)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020