Ballbirnie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The chronicles of the Ballbirnie family reach back into Scottish history to an ancient tribe known as the Picts. The ancestors of the Ballbirnie family 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 Ballbirnie family

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

Early History of the Ballbirnie family

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

Ballbirnie Spelling Variations

When the first dictionaries were invented in the last few hundred years, spelling gradually became standardized. Before that time, scribes spelled according to sound. Names were often recorded under different spelling variations every time they were written. Ballbirnie has been written Balbirnie, Balbirney, Ballbirnie, Ballbirney, Ballbyrnie, Bawbyrny, Baldbernie and many more.

Early Notables of the Ballbirnie family

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

Migration of the Ballbirnie family to Ireland

Some of the Ballbirnie 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 Ballbirnie family

The crossing to North America did not seem so great in comparison with the hardships many Scots endured at home. It was long, expensive, and cramped, but also rewarding. North America offered land and the chance for settlers to prove themselves in a new place. And many did prove themselves as they fought to forge a new nation in the American War of Independence. The ancestors of those Scots can now experience much of their once-lost heritage through the Clan societies and highland games that have sprung up across North America in the last century. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Ballbirnie: Charles Balbirnie who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1827; and then moved westward.