Contents [hide]

Innis History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Innis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The Innis surname in Scotland is said to derive from the name of the barony of Innes in Moray. As such, the surname belongs to the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. The place name Innes comes from the Gaelic "inis," meaning "island formed by two branches of a stream." 1

Early Origins of the Innis family

The surname Innis was first found in Morayshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times. The Clan's progenitor is Berowaldus Flandrensis who, in 1153, obtained from King Malcolm IV a grant of lands in Innes, in the province of Elgin. 2

The original barony was an island formed by two branches of a stream. Berowaldus was supposedly a Fleming of quite high distinction. His grandson, Walter of Innes, had these lands confirmed to him in 1226 by King Alexander II of Scotland.

Berowald continued to be a favorite first name within the Clan for some time, and this later became anglicized as Walter. Walter de Inneys was the first Chief of the Clan and held territorial control of the barony. His successor, William de Inays was forced to pledge his allegiance during King Edward I of England's brief conquest of Scotland in 1296. Scotland declared its independence at Arbroath in 1320, and it is from this point that the Innes Clan began to flourish; many branches developed with numerous Chieftains.

Sir Alexander, the 9th Chief of the Clan, built the great tower of Kincairdy Castle, and King James IV was entertained there by Sir James, the 12th Chief of the Clan in 1490. In 1579, the Privy Council of Scotland officially recognized the Innes as a Clan under Robert, the 19th Chief of Innes.

During the 1600's the Innes Clan played an important role in Scottish politics and Alexander Innes of Cockstoune, Sir Harie Innes, James Innes of Landysyde, Robert Innes, Chief of the Clan, Robert Innes of Murietown, Robert Innes of Blairtown, Robert Innes of Fortrose, were all members of Scotland's parliament. In 1554, the friction between the Innes Clan and the Dunbars reached its peak and was to continue for another thirty years. It had started with the intrusion of the Dunbars into Innes Clan territory. William Innes, the 15th Chief of the Clan, gathered eighty of his Clansmen and sacked the Priory of Pluscarden, and Alexander Dunbar narrowly escaped death on the alter steps of Elgin Cathedral. The feud finally ended with outside arbitration when it was agreed that no Dunbar should go east of the Cairn of Kilbuick and that no Innes could enter the town of Forres.

Early History of the Innis family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Innis research. Another 184 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1370, 1396, 1398, 1406, 1407, 1414, 1650, 1651, 1652, 1655, 1662, 1670, 1677, 1680, 1681, 1684, 1690, 1691, 1715, 1721, 1736, 1738, 1744, 1767, 1805 and 1823 are included under the topic Early Innis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Innis Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Innes, Innis, Innice, Inniss and others.

Early Notables of the Innis family

Of note in the family at this time was John de Innes (c. 1370-1414), medieval Scottish churchman, received a bachelorate in civil law from the University of Paris by 1396 and in canon law by 1407, pursuing an ecclesiastical career, being Archdeacon of Caithness from 1396 until 1398, and Dean of Ross, from some point between 1396 and 1398 until 1407, gave up the latter position in that year, having been elected as Bishop of Moray sometime in late 1406, and receiving consecration from Pope Benedict XIII in either Italy or southern France in the following January, bishop for over seven...
Another 100 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Innis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Innis Ranking

In the United States, the name Innis is the 10,892^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Innis migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Innis Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Innis, who landed in Maryland in 1679 4

Innis Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Simon Innis, who was on record in Virginia in 1754

Innis Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Innis, who arrived in New York, NY in 1817 4

Innis migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Innis Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Robert Innis, who landed in Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1773

Innis migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Innis Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Innis, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Dauntless" in 1840 5

Innis migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Innis Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Innis, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1841 aboard the ship Tyne
Mr. James Innis, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Tyne" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 9th August 1841 6
Mr. Thomas Innis, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Joseph Fletcher" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th November 1856 7
Mrs. Innis, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Joseph Fletcher" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th November 1856 7
Miss Innis, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Joseph Fletcher" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th November 1856 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Innis (post 1700) +

Jeffrey David "Jeff" Innis (1962-2022), American Major League Baseball pitcher, nicknamed "I-Man", he played for the New York Mets from 1987 to 1993
William Thompson Innis (1826-1901), American farmer and politician who served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1877
Roy Innis (b. 1934), American National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality, father of Niger Roy Innis
Niger Innis (b. 1968), American National Spokesperson for the Congress of Racial Equality
Harold Adams Innis (1894-1952), Canadian political economy professor at the University of Toronto, one of Canada's outstanding economic historians
Hubert Van Innis (1866-1961), Belgian six time gold and three time silver Olympic medalist for archery during 1900 and 1920 games
Innis O'Rourke, American politician, Mayor of Kings Point, New York, 1947 8

The Innis 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: Be Traist
Motto Translation: Be faithful.

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DAUNTLESS 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Dauntless.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html