Cristie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

In ancient Scotland, the ancestors of the Cristie family were part of a tribe called the Picts. The name Cristie is derived from Christopher or perhaps from Christian. "Christie and Christy are all but invariably North English or Border surnames, Christian being a former favourite font-name in those districts. It is still a popular girl's name in the Scottish Lowlands." 1

Early Origins of the Cristie family

The surname Cristie was first found in Edinburghshire, a former county, now part of the Midlothian council area where they held a family seat at Carvant. By 1296 they had moved northward to Stirlingshire and there is a section of the Stirling Antiquary called "the Christies and their doings." 2

"The surname is very common in Fife, which indeed seems to have been an early home of the name. In a charter dated 13th July 1457, granted by the abbot of Lindores to the burgh of Newburgh, John Chrysty appears as a burgess. John Chryste was admitted burgess of Aberdeen in 1530. Sir Robert Criste, presbyter, witness in Fife, 1547." 2

As one would expect early records also show the family across the northern border of England, specifically: Thomas Crysty who was listed in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1412. 3

Early History of the Cristie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cristie research. Another 235 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1476, 1541, 1565, 1569, 1582, 1590, 1597, 1602, 1605, 1612, 1634, 1688, 1710, 1730, 1748, 1761, 1766, 1773, 1774, 1784, 1796, 1797, 1800, 1803, 1810, 1816, 1823, 1829, 1831, 1838, 1840, 1865, 1874 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Cristie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cristie Spelling Variations

The appearance of the printing press and the first dictionaries in the last few hundred years did much to standardize spelling. Prior to that time scribes spelled according to sound, a practice that resulted in many spelling variations. Cristie has been spelled Christie, Chrystie, Chrysty, Christy, McChristie, McChristy, Christe, Christi and many more.

Early Notables of the Cristie family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was Hugh Christie (1710-1774), Scottish school-master and grammarian, the third son of Alexander Christie, great-uncle of William Christie, Unitarian writer [q. v.] He was born at Garvock, Kincardineshire, in 1710, and educated at King's College, Aberdeen, where he took the degree of M.A. in 1730. Soon after taking his degree he was a pointed rector of the grammar school of Brechin, an office which-the held until he was elected rector of the grammar school of Montrose, where he remained until his death (1774)James Christie, the Elder (1730-1803), English auctioneer, resigned a commission in the...
Another 272 words (19 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cristie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cristie family to Ireland

Some of the Cristie 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.

Cristie migration to the United States +

The expense of the crossing to the North American colonies seemed small beside the difficulties of remaining in Scotland. It was a long and hard trip, but at its end lay the reward of freedom. Some Scots remained faithful to England and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others fought in the American War of Independence. Much of this lost Scottish heritage has been recovered in the last century through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Cristie:

Cristie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Cristie, who landed in New York, NY in 1812 4

Cristie migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5

Cristie Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Richard Cristie, (b. 1615), aged 20, British settler traveling aboard the ship "William and John" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Cristie (post 1700) +

Cristie Kerr (b. 1977), American LPGA professional golfer

The Cristie 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: Sic viresco
Motto Translation: Thus I flourish

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm