Show ContentsCarbery History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

It was in the Scottish/English Borderlands that the Strathclyde-Briton people first used the ancient name Carbery. It was a name for someone who lived in the parish of Inveresk, Lothian, which was first recorded in the form Crebarrin, from the words Gaelic craobhm meaning "tree," and barran, meaning "hedge."

Early Origins of the Carbery family

The surname Carbery was first found in Midlothian, from the lands of CarBerry in the parish of Inveresk. "Johannes de Crebarrin filius Gilleberti de Crebarrin made two grants of lands from his territory of Crebarrin, c. 1230, and about the same period Adam filius Patricii de Crebarrin gifted four bovates of his land of Crebarrin to the Abbey of Dunfermelin. Alexander Crabarri, juror on forfeited estates in Lothian, 1312. William Carbery, M.A., petitioned for a canonry of Aberdeen, 1406." 1

Carberry Tower is a historic house in East Lothian, Scotland. King David I of Scotland granted "Caerbairin" (Carberry) to the monks of Dunfermline Abbey. The first landowner or lessee was John de Crebarrie. Carberry Hill, part of the Carberry Estate was the site where Mary, Queen of Scots facing an army assembled by a confederation of her lords, surrendered.

While most of the family hails from Scotland, there is another possible origin; that of Ireland. There the name "is derived from a geographical locality, 'of Carberry,' a parish in County Kildare, Ireland. As this surname looks very English, I insert it to prevent any misapprehension." 2

"The Carbury or Carbery baronies in Longford and Sligo were so called from Cairbre, one of the sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, King of Ireland from A.D. 379 to 405." 3 4

Early History of the Carbery family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Carbery research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1230, 1743, 1792, 1806 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Carbery History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carbery Spelling Variations

Scribes in Medieval Scotland spelled names by sound rather than any set of rules, so an enormous number of spelling variations exist in names of that era. Carbery has been spelled Carberry, Carbarry, Carbery, Carbray, Carbury, Carbrey, Carbry, Carby, Crebarin and many more.

Early Notables of the Carbery family

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

Ireland Migration of the Carbery family to Ireland

Some of the Carbery family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Carbery migration to the United States +

The number of Strathclyde Clan families sailing for North America increased steadily as the persecution continued. In the colonies, they could find not only freedom from the iron hand of the English government, but land to settle on. The American War of Independence allowed many of these settlers to prove their independence, while some chose to go to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Scots played essential roles in the forging of both great nations. Among them:

Carbery Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Hugh Carbery, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 5
Carbery Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Carbery, aged 36, who arrived in New York, NY in 1803 5
  • John Carbery, who arrived in New York 1803

Canada Carbery migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Carbery Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Carbery, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1843

Australia Carbery migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Carbery Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Peter Carbery, (b. 1796), aged 23, Irish sawyer who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Castle Forbes" on 3rd October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
  • Miss Mary Ann Carbery, (b. 1829), aged 22, Irish country servant who was convicted in County Offaly (Kings County), Ireland for 7 years for arson, transported aboard the "Blackfriar" on 24th January 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Carbery (post 1700) +

  • Thomas Carbery (1791-1863), American politician, sixth mayor of Washington, D.C
  • Thomas Carbery, American politician, Mayor of Washington, District of Columbia, 1822-24 8
  • Joseph P. Carbery, American politician, Delegate to Ohio State Constitutional Convention from Hamilton County, 1873 8
  • James Joseph Carbery (1823-1887), Irish Dominican, who became the third Bishop of Hamilton, Canada
  • Captain Douglas Hugh Moffatt Carbery MC, DFC (1894-1959), India-born, British World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories
  • Mary Carbery (1867-1949), pen name of Mary Vanessa Toulmin, who married first Algernon, 9th Baron Carbery of Castle Freke, County Cork
  • Ethna Carbery (1866-1902), Irish journalist, writer and poet
  • Spencer Carbery (b. 1981), Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger


  1. 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)
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
  5. 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)
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/castle-forbes
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blackfriar
  8. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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