Where did the name Fleming come from? What is their coat of arms? When did the Fleming family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the history of the family name?

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Coat of Arms > Fleming Coat of Arms

Fleming Coat of Arms and Name History

Fleming

Origin Displayed: Irish

Origins Available: German, Irish, Scottish

This product is available in 11 X 17 parchment scroll format, but extracts from this history are not available at this time.

Read full text versions of sample histories.

Suggested Readings for the name Fleming
Hamilton, Mullins, Fleming, and Related Lines (of Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee) by Verle Hamilton Parrish, Let the Deed Show: A Pictorial and Historical Record of the Fleming, Edwards and Woods Families Dating from 1700's to 1980 by James R. Fleming.

Some noteworthy people of the name Fleming

Peggy Gale Fleming (b. 1948), American figure skater who won five U.S. titles, three World titles and the gold medal in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France
Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming (1857-1911), American (Scottish born) astronomer made an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society of London, the first American woman to be so elected
James Phillip Fleming (b. 1943), American military pilot in the Vietnam War awarded the Medal of Honor for rescuing a 6-man Green Beret unit stranded within heavy enemy positions
Renée Fleming (b. 1959), American operatic soprano acclaimed by the press as "one of the truly magnificent voices of our time"
Rt. Rev. William Launcelot Scott Fleming (b. 1906), the renowned British ecclesiastic and explorer. His expeditions took him to Iceland, Spitzbergen, and the Antarctic
Sir Sanford Fleming (1827-1915), Canadian engineer and inventor, best known for introducing Universal Standard Time and the 24 hour clock to the world
Major James Fleming, officer of the 28th Massachusetts Regiment during the War of 1861-65
Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), Scottish biologist and pharmacologist who discovered of penicillin (1928) and shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945
Commander Ian Lancaster Fleming (1908-1964), English author, journalist and Second World War Navy Commander. Fleming is best remembered for creating the character of James Bond, but children remember him as the author of the story "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
Sir John Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945), English electrical engineer and physicist
Paul Fleming (1609-1640), German poet
Robert Peter Fleming (1907-1971), English travel writer
Tom Fleming (b. 1927), Scottish actor, director, and poet
Charles Alexander Fleming (1916-1987), New Zealand ornithologist
Klaus Eriksson Fleming (1535-1597), Swedish (Finnish-born) admiral and nobleman
Captain Richard E. Fleming (1917-1942), United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism in World War II during the Battle of Midway
Craig Fleming (b. 1971), English footballer
Damien Fleming (b. 1970), Australian cricketer
Don Fleming (1937-1963), American football safety

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Learn More About Irish Surnames

ANCIENT ORIGINS OF IRELAND

According to Irish tradition, the ancient kings of Ireland were the descendants of King Milesius of Spain. Milesius was the grandson of Breoghan, conqueror of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile, and Portugal, who was also called Brigus or Brian. Milesius achieved outstanding military success in Egypt, and was given Scota, the Pharoah's daughter, in marriage. When Spain underwent a twenty-six year famine, Milesius sent his uncle Ithe to seek a new homeland, in accordance with an ancient prophecy. After Ithe discovered Ireland, only to be murdered by the resident Tuatha de Danan, his son Lughaide brought his body home to Spain.

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MAJOR FACTS INFLUENCING IRISH FAMILIES AND SURNAMES

The history and people of Ireland are a fascinating subject of study. Ireland is an island of the British Isles, to the west of Great Britain, and it is divided into the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. Ireland is renowned for its lush green landscape, festive atmosphere and friendly populace. The vibrant culture of the modern Irish is a product of Ireland's ancient history.

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IRELAND: FLIGHT OF THE WILD GEESE

For approximately two centuries, a great number of able-bodied young Irishmen emigrated from Ireland. This migration, which took place over the 17th and 18th centuries, is colloquially known as the 'Flight of the Wild Geese'.

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IRELAND: THE PROVINCE OF CONNAUGHT

Connaught is the westernmost province of Ireland. In the modern era, the spelling changed to Connacht. This province has a population of approximately 424,000 today, and contains the counties of Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo. These county names have remained the same since the Middle Ages.

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THE CROMWELLIAN INVASION OF IRELAND

After the clans were banished from the Scottish/English Borderlands in 1603, many clan families emigrated to Ireland, which was nominally called the Plantation of Ulster. The area was particularly attractive to the emigrants because the British parliament had created a land scheme to attract settlers to the area.

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IRELAND: THE PROVINCE OF LEINSTER

Leinster is in the southeast of Ireland, and is the most populous of the four provinces, with approximately 1,500,000 people. This province contains the counties of Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Laois (formerly Leix), Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow. These divisions have remained the same from the Middle Ages to the present.

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IRELAND: THE PROVINCE OF MUNSTER

Munster is the southernmost of the four Irish provinces.

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PLANTATION OF ULSTER

During the early 17th century, the Plantation of Ulster was an attractive area of settlement for migrants within the British Empire. The Plantation was composed of six entire counties, namely, Armagh, Tyrone, Coleraine, Donegal, Fermanagh and Caven, which were confiscated as a result of a war between Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone and Queen Elizabeth. As a result, about 3,798,000 statute acres were under the crown of England.

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IRISH POTATO FAMINE

The Irish Potato Famine, which lasted from 1845 to 1850, resulted in a great exodus of Irish refugees fleeing to Britain, Australia, and North America, one of the most dramatic waves of Irish migration in history.

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SEPTS

Prior to the development of hereditary surnames in Ireland, there was a sept system by which families were divided into broad clans or tribes. These were usually based on a common descent from a particularly notable ancestor. For example, the septs who all claimed descent from the famed 4th century warrior king Niall of the Nine Hostages were collectively known as the Ui Neill, or the Hy Niall. Other particularly distinguished groups of ancient septs included the Ui Fiachra, the Ui Maine (also called the Hy Many), the Cinel Eoghain, the Clann Cholgain, the Corca Laighe, and the Dal Cair (also known as the Dalcassians). The use of surnames gradually rendered the sept system obsolete.

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ULSTER

ANCIENT ULSTER

The northern region of Ulster was an ancient kingdom, and one of the four historic Provinces of Ireland. The region was mostly annexed by the English Crown during the reign of James I (1603-1625).

In the Middle Ages, the Province of Ulster contained the counties Donegal, Derry, Antrim, Down, Armagh, Cavan, Monaghan, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.

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UNDERTAKERS

Under the Plantation of Ulster, the mostly Scottish settlers, nominally called undertakers and planters agreed to remain loyal to the English Crown and to retain their religion which was for the most part, Protestant. Essentially, they undertook to retain their loyalty to the Crown, hence the term undertakers.

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WHITE SAILS

By the turn of the 20th century, millions of Irish had emigrated to Britain, its colonies, and the United States. They left behind them a society in which virtually every family had close relatives overseas. Few countries in the world have ever experienced such rapid, intensive and long lasting demographic upheaval.

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MAC, MC PREFIX

Scottish and Irish patronymic surnames frequently have the prefix Mac or Mc. When these surnames were originally developed, they were formed by adding the Gaelic word mac, which means son of, to the name of the original bearer's father. For example, the surname MacDougall literally means son of Dougal. In later times, these prefixes were also added to the occupation or nickname of the bearer's father. For example, MacWard means son of the bard and MacDowell means son of the black stranger.

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O' PREFIX

Irish patronymic surnames frequently feature the distinctive prefix O'. When these surnames were originally developed, they were formed by adding the Gaelic words O or Ui which mean descendant of, to the name of the original bearer's grandfather or to that of an earlier ancestor.

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STRONGBOW

As with the fall of Troy, the long conquest of Ireland began with a dispute over the abduction of a beautiful woman. In 1167, Dermod MacMorough, the King of Leinster, is said to have kidnapped Dearvorgil, the wife of Tiernan O'Rourke, the Prince of West Brefney. However, this so-called 'abduction' may be described more accurately as an elopement. This incident led to the invasion and conquest of Leinster by Roderick O'Connor, the king of Connacht and self-styled monarch of Ireland, who sided with O'Rourke. Fleeing to England, the defeated MacMorough sought the aid of King Henry II, who allowed MacMorough to gather support among his subjects in return for an oath of fealty.

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IRELAND: A BRIEF HISTORY

Ireland was first settled in about 6000 BC by a race of Middle Stone Age hunter-gatherers who lived there and hunted such creatures as the megaceros, a giant variety of deer so large that their antlers spanned 10 feet. Around 3000 BC, they made significant technological improvements which moved them into the classification of Bronze Age people. These people eventually came to be known as the Picts, who ruled over Ireland for millenia and even expanded to Scotland. Irish folklore tells that during these very early times, two sons of King Milesius of Iberia conquered Ireland, becoming King Heremon, and his brother Heber. It is said that after assuming power in Ireland Heremon slew his brother, took the throne and fathered a line of kings of Ireland that includes Malachi II and King Niall of the Nine Hostages.

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Eireamhón 1434-1418 BC (Eremon)
Éibhear 1434-1433 BC (Eber)
Muimhne 1418-1415 BC
Luighne 1418-1415 BC
Laighne 1418-1415 BC
Ir 1415-1415 BC
Orba 1415-1415 BC
Fearán 1415-1415 BC
Fergen 1415-1415 BC
Nuadhat I Neacht 1415-1414 BC

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ANCIENT CELTIC FAMILIES

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FAMILIES IN IRELAND FROM THE 11TH CENTURY TO THE END OF THE 16TH CENTURY

FAMILIES IN IRELAND FROM THE 11th TO
THE END OF THE 16th CENTURY.

According to "A Topographical and Historical Map of Ancient Ireland," compiled by Philip MacDermott, M.D., the following were the names of the principal families in Ireland, of Irish, Anglo-Norman, and Anglo-Irish origin.

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