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Trimble History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Trimble History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The descendants of a Boernician family in ancient Scotland were the first to use the name Trimble. It is a name for a man named Rule (sometimes Ruel) who saved King Robert the Bruce at Stirling Park from a charging bull by turning the bull's head.

According to tradition, the King rewarded Rule with lands in Bedrule, and instructed him to change his name to Turnbull. This same man, Rule, is said to have served at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333, against the English. Rule preceded the Scottish Army into battle with a huge black dog, and challenged any Englishman to fight him. Sir Robert Venal of Norfolk accepted his challenge and killed both Rule and his dog. 1 While the account of the fight is most certainly true and well documented, the legend behind the name Turnbull is questionable.

Early Origins of the Trimble family

The surname Trimble was first found in Roxburghshire. Referring to the aforementioned Rule reference, there was a noble family of Rule, which derived its name from the Water of Rule, an affluent of the Teviot.

This family dates back to 1214 when King William the Lion of Scotland granted lands to Alan de Rule. If the bull episode is true, then the bearer was either Adam de Rule or Thomas de Rule, the two Rule chieftains who appeared on the Ragman Rolls in 1296, just after the Stirling Park affair.

Later, King Robert the Bruce did in fact grant lands in the west of Fulhophalche to William Turnbull in 1315. King David II also granted the lands of Humdallwalschop (now Hundleshop) to John Turnbull. 1

The source "The History of Liddesdale and the Debatable Land" includes the following entries for the family: David Trumbull or Turnbull, 1494; George Trumbull or Turnbull, 1404-5; Jock Trumble, 1544; and Wat Trombull, 1562. 2

Early History of the Trimble family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Trimble research. Another 389 words (28 lines of text) covering the years 1214, 1296, 1315, 1329, 1333, 1400, 1447, 1450, 1454, 1545, 1562, 1591, 1633 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Trimble History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Trimble Spelling Variations

Before the printing press and the first dictionaries appeared, names and other words were often spelled differently every time they were written. Trimble has appeared under the variations Turnbull, Turnball, Trimble, Trimbell, Trumbell, Trumbill, Turnbul and many more.

Early Notables of the Trimble family

Notable amongst bearers of this family name during their early history was William Turnbull (d. 1454), Bishop of Glasgow, who procured from the pope a charter to establish a university in the city...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Trimble Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Trimble Ranking

In the United States, the name Trimble is the 2,208^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Trimble family to Ireland

Some of the Trimble family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Trimble migration to the United States +

The Scots who crossed the Atlantic were often on the run from poverty as well as persecution. They brought little with them, and often had nothing of their home country to hand down to their children. In the 20th century, Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations have helped the ancestors of Boernician Scots to recover their lost national legacy. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Trimble were among those contributors:

Trimble Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Ann Trimble, who arrived in Augusta County, Va in 1740 4
John Trimble, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1740 4
Margaret Trimble, who landed in Virginia in 1740 4
Mary Trimble, who arrived in Virginia in 1740 4

Trimble Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Trimble, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 4
Edward Trimble, who landed in New York in 1812 4
Gibson Trimble, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1823 4
James Trimble, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
A N Trimble, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1875 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Trimble migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Trimble Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Trimble, aged 50 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Ayrshire" departing from the port of Newry, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle on 3rd September 1847 5
Mr. Hall Trimble, aged 23 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Maria Somes" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle on 19th September 1847 5
Ms. Isabella Trimble, aged 25 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Ayrshire" departing from the port of Newry, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle on 26th August 1847 5
Mrs. Jane Trimble, aged 62 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Maria Somes" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle on 22nd September 1847 5
Mr. Joseph Trimble, aged 25 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Yorkshire" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle on 10th September 1847 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Trimble migration to Australia +

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

Trimble Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Robert Trimble, (b. 1819), aged 22, Irish labourer from County Tyrone, Ireland departing on 8th July 1841 from Greenock, Scotland aboard the ship "New York Packet" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 23rd October 1841 6
Mrs. Lydia Trimble, (b. 1821), aged 20, Irish dress maker from County Tyrone, Ireland departing on 8th July 1841 from Greenock, Scotland aboard the ship "New York Packet" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 23rd October 1841 7
Mary Trimble, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Inconstant" in 1849 8
James Trimble, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Ramillies" in 1849 9
Thomas Trimble (aged 24) arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Aurora"

Trimble 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:

Trimble Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Trimble, who landed in Otahuhu, Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
Robert Trimble, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dunedin" in 1875 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Trimble (post 1700) +

Vivian Elizabeth Trimble (1963-2023), American musician, best known as the keyboardist in the band Luscious Jackson from 1991 to 1998
Vance Henry Trimble (1913-2021), American Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1974
Allen Trimble (1783-1870), American Federalist politician, the 8th and 10th Governor of Ohio, eponym of Trimble, Ohio
Charles Trimble, American founder of Trimble Navigation, Los Altos, California in 1978, now with over 8,000 employees worldwide
Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (1802-1888), United States Army officer and civil engineer, Confederate general in the American Civil War famous for his role as a division commander in Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg
Robert Trimble (1776-1828), American jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1826-1828), Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky (1817-1826)
Thomas Clark Trimble III (1878-1965), American jurist, Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (1937-1957)
John Trimble (1812-1884), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 5th district (1867-1869)
Frederick H. Trimble (1878-1934), American architect in Central Florida, active from the early 1900s through the 1920s
Lawrence Strother Trimble (1825-1904), American politician, United States congressman from Kentucky
... (Another 17 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 58)
Ship Voyages to New South Wales (Retrieved 18th November 2020). Retrieved from http://indexes.records.nsw.gov.au/ebook/list.aspx?Page=NRS5316/4_4782/New%20York%20Packet_23%20Oct%201841/4_478200095.jpg&No=175
Ship Voyages to New South Wales (Retrieved 18th November 2020). Retrieved from http://indexes.records.nsw.gov.au/ebook/list.aspx?Page=NRS5316/4_4782/New%20York%20Packet_23%20Oct%201841/4_478200095.jpg&No=176
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The INCONSTANT the Voyage - 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Inconstant.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RAMILIES 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Ramillies.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 9th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html