Darkly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The ancient Scottish kingdom of Dalriada is thought to be the home of the ancestors of the Darkly family. Their name comes from someone having lived in the village of Dargie, in the parish of Liff-Benvie in Angus.

Early Origins of the Darkly family

The surname Darkly was first found in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), part of the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire, where they held a family seat from early times.

Early History of the Darkly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Darkly research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1600 and 1613 are included under the topic Early Darkly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Darkly Spelling Variations

In the Middle Ages, the translation between Gaelic and English was not a highly developed process. Spelling was not yet standardized, and so, an enormous number of spelling variations appear in records of early Scottish names. Darkly has appeared as Dargie, Dargey, Dargy, Dairgy, Dairgie, Dairgey and others.

Early Notables of the Darkly family

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

Migration of the Darkly family to Ireland

Some of the Darkly family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Darkly migration to the United States +

Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Darkly or a variant listed above:

Darkly Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Gilbert Darkly, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1755 1

Citations +

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)