De courcy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Ireland

The Irish already had a system for creating hereditary surnames established when the followers of Strongbow settled in eastern Ireland. Although there was relatively little friction between the two systems because they operated according to very similar principles, the Strongbownians frequently used local surnames. In Ireland, local surnames were almost unheard of, but in England they were probably the most common form of hereditary surname. Local surnames, such as De courcy, were taken from the name of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. The surname De courcy is derived from in the settlement of Coursi in Normandy. The surname De courcy belongs to the large category of Anglo-Norman habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The Gaelic form of the surname De courcy is de Cúrsa.

Early Origins of the De courcy family

The surname De courcy was first found in County Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) the ancient Kingdom of Deis Muin (Desmond), located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, in Ireland, where this noble family claim descent from Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, King of France, who died in 814. Descended was Balderic Teutonicus, Earl of Brion in Normandy, who had six sons. The third son was Robert de Courcy, Lord of Courcy in Normandy. His son, Richard, was at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. and was granted Stoke-Courcy in Somerset, and other lands. His son John De Courcy, Baron of Stoke Courcy, was created Earl of Ulster by King Henry II for his assistance in conquering the province of Ulster, but Sir John was deprived of his Earldom by King John, who confined him to the Tower of London for one year and granted Ulster to Hugh de Lacie. His son Miles De Courcy, would move to Ireland where he was made the 1st Baron of Kingsale, County Cork. 1

Patrick de Courcy was appointed Justiciar of Ireland in 1221. 2

Early History of the De courcy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our De courcy research. Another 165 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1098, 1160, 1172, 1176, 1181, 1182, 1210, 1219, 1664 and 1720 are included under the topic Early De courcy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

De courcy Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name De courcy revealed many spelling variations including Courcy, Courcey, Courcie, Curcy, Cursie, Curcie and many more.

Early Notables of the De courcy family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

Sir Richard de Courcy (died 1098)
John de Courcy (1160-1219), an Anglo-Norman knight who arrived in Ireland in 1176
Affreca de Courcy, was a late 12th century and early 13th century noblewomen, wife of John de Courcy

De courcy migration to the United States +

Ireland experienced a dramatic decrease in its population during the 19th century. This was in a great measure, a response to England's imperialistic policies. Hunger and disease took the lives of many Irish people and many more chose to leave their homeland to escape the horrific conditions. North America with its promise of work, freedom, and land was an extremely popular destination for Irish families. For those families that survived the journey, all three of these things were often attained through much hard work and perseverance. Research into early immigration and passenger lists revealed many immigrants bearing the name De courcy:

De courcy Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Henry DeCourcy, who landed in Maryland in 1634 3

De courcy migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

De courcy Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Garrett DeCourcy, whose wedding was on record in Nova Scotia in 1831
Garrett DeCourcy, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1831

Contemporary Notables of the name De courcy (post 1700) +

William Earl DeCourcy (1894-1981), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, 1948-50 4
Walker G. DeCourcy, American politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Virginia, 1924 4
Polly L. DeCourcy, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1964 4
Brigie de Courcy, Irish television producer
James Harry de Courcy (1927-2000), Australian cricketer
Frédéric Charlot de Courcy (1796-1862), French man of letters
Alfred de Courcy (1866-1931), English whistle maker from 1888 to 1927 in Birmingham, who founded the company A de Courcy & Co ca. 1906
Michael De Courcy, namesake of De Courcy Island, British Columbia, he was the Commander of the HMS Pylades, which served in this area from 1859 to 1861
Robert Phillip "Bob" DeCourcy (b. 1927), retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender
Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes KCMG, GCM, OBE (1925-2020), Barbadian cricketer who played in 48 Test matches for the West Indies cricket team from 1948 to 1958

The De courcy 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: Vincit omnia veritas
Motto Translation: Truth conquers all things.

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html