Cleghorne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

Cleghorne 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 Cleghorn, Lanarkshire.

Early Origins of the Cleghorne family

The surname Cleghorne was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow. Cleghorn in a small village north-east of the town of Lanark and is the ancient home to the family.

"The home of the Cleghorns is in the West of Scotland, but a group of families of the name flourished in the parish of Cramond for several generations, and Robert Cleghorn, farmer, at Saughton, near Edinburgh, was a friend of Robert Burns." 1

Early History of the Cleghorne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cleghorne research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1541 is included under the topic Early Cleghorne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cleghorne 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. Cleghorne has been spelled Claghorn, Cleghorn, Claghorne, Cleghorne, Gleghorn and many more.

Early Notables of the Cleghorne family

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

Cleghorne 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:

Cleghorne Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Cleghorne, who landed in Maryland in 1666 2

Cleghorne migration to Australia +

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

Cleghorne Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

John Cleghorne, a mason, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832

Contemporary Notables of the name Cleghorne (post 1700) +

Ellen Cleghorne (b. 1965), American actress and comedian

The Cleghorne Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Insperata floruit
Motto Translation: It has flourished beyond expectations

Citations +

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)
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)