Show ContentsMonrow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

In Scottish history, few names go farther back than Monrow, whose ancestors lived among the clans of the Pictish tribe. They lived near the foot of the river Roe in the Irish county of Derry. The Gaelic form of the name is Rothach, which means a man of Ro or a man from Ro.

Early Origins of the Monrow family

The surname Monrow was first found in Cromartyshire, where they were descended from Donadl O'Kane and his Irish sept, who left their homeland at the mouth of the river Roe, in Ireland and settler in Ferrindonald in Cromarty, in the 11th century. Other historians suggest the name was originally Monrosse, because they were Mountaineers of Ross. In this case, their traditional origin is from the Siol O'Cain, an ancient Pictish tribe descended from Anselan O'Cain in North Moray, which also produced the Buchanans and the MacMillans.

Early History of the Monrow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Monrow research. Another 419 words (30 lines of text) covering the years 1210, 1230, 1476, 1505, 1602, 1651, 1680, 1693, 1697, 1719 and 1729 are included under the topic Early Monrow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Monrow Spelling Variations

The arts of spelling and translation were yet in their infancies when surnames began, so there are an enormous number of spelling variations of the names in early Scottish records. This is a particular problem with Scottish names because of the numerous times a name might have been loosely translated to English from Gaelic and back. Monrow has been spelled Monroe, Monro, Monrow, Munroe, Munro, Munrow and many more.

Early Notables of the Monrow family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was Sir William Munro of Foulis (died 1505), a Scottish Knight and Scottish Clan chief of the highland Clan Munro, by tradition the 12th Baron of Foulis and 15th overall chief of the clan; Robert Monro of the Munro of Obsdale family (died 1680), a famous Scottish General, from the Clan Munro of Ross-shire; Sir George Munro, 1st Baronet of Newmore (1602-1693), Scottish soldier and Member of Parliament; Sir John Munro, 4th Baronet of Foulis (died 1697), 22nd Baron and 25th chief of the Clan Munro; Sir Robert Munro, 5th Baronet of Foulis (died...
Another 120 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Monrow Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Monrow migration to the United States +

This oppression forced many Scots to leave their homelands. Most of these chose North America as their destination. Although the journey left many sick and poor, these immigrants were welcomed the hardy with great opportunity. Many of these settlers stood up for their newfound freedom in the American War of Independence. More recently, Scots abroad have recovered much of their collective heritage through highland games and other patriotic functions and groups. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has located various settlers bearing the name Monrow:

Monrow Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Hugh Monrow, who settled in Boston in 1651
  • Hugh Monrow, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1651 1
  • John Monrow, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1651 1
  • Robert Monrow, who arrived in New England in 1652 1
  • William Monrow, who landed in Virginia in 1666 1
Monrow Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • James Monrow, who arrived in Virginia in 1718 1


  1. 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)


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