Show ContentsApplegate History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Applegate is an ancient Scottish name that was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. It is a name for someone who lived in Dumfries. The Applegate surname comes from the northern Middle English applegarth, meaning "apple orchard." The name may have been originally used for someone who lived near an orchard, or it may have been a habitational name from a place so named, of which there are examples in Cumbria and North and East Yorkshire, and in the county of Dumfries.

Early Origins of the Applegate family

The surname Applegate was first found in Dumfriesshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Dhùn Phris), a Southern area, bordering on England that today forms part of the Dumfries and Galloway Council Area, where they held a family seat at Applegarth, near Lockerbie.

Early History of the Applegate family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Applegate research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1284 and 1340 are included under the topic Early Applegate History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Applegate Spelling Variations

Prior to the first dictionaries, scribes spelled words according to sound. This, and the fact that Scottish names were repeatedly translated from Gaelic to English and back, contributed to the enormous number of spelling variations in Scottish names. Applegate has been spelled Aplegath, Aplegarth, Applegarth, Applegate and others.

Early Notables of the Applegate family

More information is included under the topic Early Applegate Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Applegate Ranking

In the United States, the name Applegate is the 2,967th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. [1]


United States Applegate migration to the United States +

In such difficult times, the difficulties of raising the money to cross the Atlantic to North America did not seem so large compared to the problems of keeping a family together in Scotland. It was a journey well worth the cost, since it was rewarded with land and freedom the Scots could not find at home. The American War of Independence solidified that freedom, and many of those settlers went on to play important parts in the forging of a great nation. Among them:

Applegate Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • James Applegate, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1634 [2]
  • Thomas Applegate, who landed in Massachusetts in 1635 [2]
  • Clement Applegate who settled in Virginia in 1654
  • Ares Applegate, who landed in Long Island in 1679 [2]
Applegate Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Richard Applegate, who arrived in Albany, NY in 1776 [2]
Applegate Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John R Applegate, who arrived in America in 1840 [2]
  • John Applegate, who settled in San Francisco, California, in 1850
  • R P Applegate, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1855 [2]

New Zealand Applegate 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:

Applegate Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Henry Applegate, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "England" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 6th February 1867 [3]
  • Miss Ann Applegate, (b. 1825), aged 49, English settler from Suffolk travelling from London aboard the ship "Sussex" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 17th July 1874 [4]

Contemporary Notables of the name Applegate (post 1700) +

  • Edward Robert "Eddie" Applegate (1935-2016), American television actor, best known for his role as Richard Harrison, the boyfriend of Patty Lane on The Patty Duke Show
  • Shannon Applegate, American author, lecturer, and historian from the state of Oregon
  • Frederick Applegate (b. 1953), American actor, singer and dancer
  • Captain Oliver Cromwell Applegate (1845-1938), American politician and Indian agent in the state of Oregon
  • Jeremy Applegate (1965-2000), born Paul Andrew Boyce, an American television and film actor
  • Royce D. Applegate (1939-2003), American actor and screenwriter, best known for his role as Chief Petty Officer Manilow Crocker on the television series seaQuest DSV
  • Debby Applegate (b. 1968), American historian and biographer, best known for writing The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher, for which she won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
  • Jodi Applegate (b. 1964), American broadcast journalist for MSNBC and NBC News
  • Douglas "Doug" Applegate (1928-1977), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio (1977-1995)
  • Lindsay Applegate (1808-1892), American pioneer who helped co-found the Applegate Trail
  • ... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  4. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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