Harkey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

Harkey is an ancient Viking-Scottish name derived from Henry. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the diminutive Harry; it is a double diminutive of Harry in the form Har-kin.

Early Origins of the Harkey family

The surname Harkey was first found in Norfolk, where Edwinus and Roger filius Hardekin was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1175. Years later, John Hardekyn, Herkyn was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Essex in 1327. 1

Henry Harkeley (fl. 1316), was Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1313 to 1316 and Doctor of Divinity; he taught at Oxford in the early part of the fourteenth century. 2

Early History of the Harkey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harkey research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1890 is included under the topic Early Harkey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harkey Spelling Variations

Scottish names from the Middle Ages vary enormously in their spellings. This is a result of the fact that there were no universal standards like dictionaries for scribes to judge by. The recorded spelling variations of the name Harkey include Harkin, Harken, Harkins, Hacon, Hakon, Haken and many more.

Early Notables of the Harkey family

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

Harkey Ranking

In the United States, the name Harkey is the 8,385^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Harkey family to Ireland

Some of the Harkey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 83 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Harkey family

Settlers found farms all along the eastern part of what would become the United States and Canada. They provided a base and a backbone that would strengthen two great nations in the making. In the 20th century, the ancestors of those brave Scots have rediscovered their heritage through highland games and Scottish historical societies. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Scottish name Harkey or a variant listed above, including: Daniel, James, John, Patrick, William Harkin arrived in Philadelphia from about 1800 to 1870; Andrew, Daniel, Edward, James, John, Patrick and William Harkins arrived in Philadelphia between 1830 and 1870..

Contemporary Notables of the name Harkey (post 1700) +

Stephen Douglas "Steve" Harkey (b. 1949), former American NFL football running back
Ira B. Harkey Jr. (1918-2006), American author, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing in 1963
Bob Harkey (b. 1930), American former USAC Championship Car series driver
Michael Anthony Harkey (b. 1966), American former Major League Baseball pitcher
O. N. Harkey, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Arkansas, 1912 4
Don Harkey, American politician, Representative from Texas 13th District, 1996 4

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html