Gowrie Surname History

Origins Available:
Scotland

The Gowrie family comes from the ancient Scottish Dalriadan clans of the mountainous west coast of Scotland. The name Gowrie is derived from the personal name Goraidh, an Old Norse forename. The Gaelic form of the name was Mac Goraidh, which means son of Goraidh. or son of Godfrey.

Early Origins of the Gowrie family

The surname Gowrie was first found in on the Isle of Skye, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Gowrie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gowrie research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1380 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Gowrie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gowrie Spelling Variations

Translation in medieval times was an undeveloped science and was often carried out without due care. For this reason, many early Scottish names appeared radically altered when written in English. The spelling variations of Gowrie include MacGorrie, MacGorry, MacGory, MacGorey and others.

Early Notables of the Gowrie family

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

Gowrie 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. 1

Gowrie Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Henry Gowrie, aged 19, who landed in Barbados in 1635 2

The Gowrie 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: Per mare per terras
Motto Translation: By sea and by land.

Citations +

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
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)