Contents [hide]

Currey History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Currey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

It was in the Scottish/English Borderlands that the Strathclyde-Briton people first used the ancient name Currey. It was a name for someone who lived the place named Currie, derived from Gaelic curraigh, in Midlothian, on record since 1230. Some instances of this name in Scotland are also known to have derived the place name Corrie in Dumfriesshire.

Early Origins of the Currey family

The surname Currey was first found in Midlothian, where "Philip de Curry granted the lands of Dalhengun and Bargower in Kyle to the Abbey of Melrose, 1179. About 1210 Peter de Curri witnessed a charter by Malcolm Loccard, and John Curry of Scotland is mentioned in an Annandale charter, 1238." 1

"Hugh de Corrie witnessed a charter of a fishery in Torduf c. 1194-1211, and as de Corri he witnessed resignation of land in Weremundebi and Anant within the same period. Radulph de Cony witnessed a charter by Henry de Grahame a. 1200." 1

In England, Dodda æt Curi was listed as an Old English Byname in Somerset c1075; and Richard de Cury was listed in Somerset in 1212. 2 Curry, Curry-Mallet, North Curry and Curry-Rivell are all found in Somerset. It is thought that North Curry is the oldest as "this place appears to have been known to the Romans, an urn containing a quantity of silver coins of that people having been discovered in 1748: it was subsequently held by the Saxon kings, and retained in demesne by the Conqueror." 3

Later records show Robert atte Curie in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 2

Early History of the Currey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Currey research. Another 544 words (39 lines of text) covering the years 1179, 1243, 1260, 1271, 1274, 1291, 1296, 1330, 1339, 1342, 1362, 1364, 1379, 1398, 1400, 1449, 1506, 1511, 1526, 1528, 1547, 1549, 1570, 1641, 1652, 1689, 1691, 1693, 1780, 1799, 1817, 1820, 1840, 1875 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Currey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Currey Spelling Variations

Surnames that evolved in Scotland in the Middle Ages often appear under many spelling variations. These are due to the practice of spelling according to sound in the era before dictionaries had standardized the English language. Currey has appeared as Currie, Curry, Currey and others.

Early Notables of the Currey family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Sir Frederick Currie (1799-1875), Indian official, third son of Mark Currie of Cobham, Surrey, by Elizabeth, daughter of John Close of Easby, Yorkshire, was born on 3 Feb. 1799. He was educated at Charterhouse and the East India Company's College...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Currey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Currey Ranking

In the United States, the name Currey is the 9,987^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Currey family to Ireland

Some of the Currey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 202 words (14 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Currey migration to the United States +

The North American colonies beckoned, with their ample land and opportunity as their freedom from the persecution suffered by so many Clan families back home. Many Scots even fought against England in the American War of Independence to gain this freedom. Recently, clan societies have allowed the ancestors of these brave Scottish settlers to rediscover their familial roots. Among them:

Currey Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Currey, who landed in Maryland in 1668 5
Andrew Currey, who landed in Maryland in 1674 5

Currey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Lawrence Currey, who landed in America in 1810 5
Michael Currey, aged 29, who arrived in New York in 1812 5
James Currey, who landed in America in 1812 5
William Currey, aged 27, who arrived in America in 1822 5
William Currey and his wife settled in Alexandria Vermont in 1822 with seven children
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Currey migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Currey Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Samuel Currey, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1760

Currey Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

E C Currey, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1907

Currey migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6

Currey Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

James Currey, who settled in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1716

Contemporary Notables of the name Currey (post 1700) +

David Currey (1943-2023), American college athletics administrator and American football player and coach
Haskell Brooks Currey (1900-1982), American mathematician and logician
Donald Rusk Currey Ph. D. (1934-2004), American professor of geography
John Moore Currey (1814-1912), Chief Justice of California from 1866 to 1868
Sergeant Francis Sherman Currey (b. 1925), American soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944
Frederick Currey (1819-1881), English mycologist, born at Norwood in Surrey 19 Aug. 1819, his father, Benjamin Currey, being clerk of the parliaments 7
Edmund Samuel Currey (b. 1868), English footballer
Charles Currey (1916-2010), British Olympic silver medalist sailor
Andrew Bruce Currey (b. 1971), retired Australian javelin thrower
William Matthew Currey VC (1895-1948), Australian politician, recipient of the Victoria Cross
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020