Balbyrnie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The ancient Pictish-Scottish family that first used the name Balbyrnie lived in the lands of Balbirnie in Fife. The name is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties.

Early Origins of the Balbyrnie family

The surname Balbyrnie was first found in Fife, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Balbyrnie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Balbyrnie research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1260, 1483, 1508, 1622 and 1699 are included under the topic Early Balbyrnie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Balbyrnie 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. Balbyrnie has been spelled Balbirnie, Balbirney, Ballbirnie, Ballbirney, Ballbyrnie, Bawbyrny, Baldbernie and many more.

Early Notables of the Balbyrnie family

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

Migration of the Balbyrnie family to Ireland

Some of the Balbyrnie family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Balbyrnie family

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 Balbyrnie: Charles Balbirnie who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1827; and then moved westward.