Cormack History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Ireland

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While many Irish names are familiar, their past incarnations are often shrouded in mystery, reflecting the ancient Gaelic heritage of their bearers. The original Gaelic form of the name Cormack is Mac Cormaic, derived from the forename Cormac.

Early Origins of the Cormack family

The surname Cormack was first found in Munster. The Cormacks of Munster were of great antiquity and descended directly from Nathi, brother of Felim who was King of Munster about the year 560 A.D. Cormac, son of Cabhsan, was the first chieftain to be called Cormack, and, of course, MacCormack came later as a direct descendent, Mac or Mc signifying the 'son of'.

Early History of the Cormack family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cormack research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1000, 1700, 1720, 1755, 1782, 1783, 1794, 1800, 1807, 1821, 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1827, 1828, 1832, 1839, 1843, 1845, 1848, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1859, 1865, 1868, 1884 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Cormack History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cormack Spelling Variations

Many variations of the name Cormack were found in archives from the Middle Ages. The spelling and language in which the people's names were recorded was often up to the individual scribe. Variations of the name Cormack found include Cormack, MacCormack, McCormack, McCormick, MacCormick, Cormac, Cormick, Cormyck, Kormack, Kormick, Cormach, Cormich, Cormiche and many more.

Early Notables of the Cormack family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Anne McCormac (c. 1700-1782), birth name of Anne Bonny, born in Cork, the infamous Irish woman who became a famous pirate, operating in the Caribbean. After her capture in 1720, she and he female friend Read both "pleaded their bellies," asking for mercy because they were pregnant. In accordance with English common law, both women received a temporary stay of execution until they gave birth. Read died in prison, most likely from a fever from childbirth; the fate of...
Another 87 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cormack Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cormack Ranking

In the United States, the name Cormack is the 17,401^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Cormack migration to the United States +

In the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of Irish people immigrated to North American shores. The early settlers were enticed by the promise of their own land, but they were moderately well off in Ireland when they decided to emigrate. Therefore, they were merely carrying out a long and carefully thought out decision. The 1840s saw the emergence of a very different trend: thousands of extremely desperate people crammed into passenger boats hoping to find any type of opportunity. The Irish of this decade had seen their homeland severely stricken by crop failures which resulted in widespread disease and starvation. At whatever time the Irish immigrants came to North America, they were instrumental in the rapid development of the emerging nations of the United States and what would become known as Canada. An exhaustive search of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many persons bearing the name Cormack, or one of its variants:

Cormack Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Daniell Cormack, who arrived in Virginia in 1643 2

Cormack Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Christopher Cormack, who settled in Annapolis Maryland in 1731

Cormack Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Patrick Cormack, who settled in New York State in 1804
Patrick Cormack, aged 17, who landed in New York, NY in 1804 2
James, Margaret, Peter, Rebecca Cormack all, who settled in New York State in 1804
Thomas Cormack, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1850

Cormack migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cormack Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mrs. Bridget Cormack, aged 30 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Lady Campbell" departing from the port of Dublin, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in September 1847 3
Mr. Michael Cormack, aged 4 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Lady Campbell" departing from the port of Dublin, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in September 1847 3
Mr. Michael Cormack, aged 30 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Junior" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in July 1847 3

Cormack migration to Australia +

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

Cormack Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Cormack, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, the settlement was listed as abandoned and most of the convicts transported to Tasmania on the "Queen" in 1804 4
George Cormack, Scottish convict from Inverness, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on July 29th, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5
John Cormack, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Rajasthan" in 1838 6
W C Cormack, who landed in Sydney, Australia in 1839
Andrew Cormack, aged 33, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Charlotte Jane" 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cormack 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:

Cormack Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

W E Cormack, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1841
John Cormack, aged 21, a labourer, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Slains Castle" in 1841
Mr. John Cormack, (b. 1819), aged 21, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Slains Castle" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 25th January 1841 8
Mr. John Cormack, Scottish settler travelling from Clyde aboard the ship "Robert Henderson" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 5th October 1861 8
Mr. Angus Cormack, Scottish settler travelling from Clyde aboard the ship "Sir William Eyre" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand in April 1863 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Cormack (post 1700) +

Edward Bartlett Cormack (1898-1942), American actor, playwright, screenwriter, and producer, best known for his 1927 Broadway play The Racket, and his many collaborations with Howard Hughes and Cecil B. DeMille
Allan MacLeod Cormack (1924-1998), American (South African-born) physicist, who shared a 1979 Nobel Prize, for developing the CAT scan x-ray technique
Patrick Thomas Cormack DL, FSA, FRHistS (1939-2024), Baron Cormack, a British politician, historian, journalist and author, Member of Parliament for South Staffordshire (1974-2010)
Mr. Hamish George Gordon Cormack O.B.E., M.B.E., British Lieutenant Colonel for The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 17th June 2017
Ben Cormack (b. 1982), British writer and illustrator
Paul Gregory Cormack (b. 1962), former English cricketer
Gordon V. Cormack, Canadian computer science professor at the University of Waterloo and co-inventor of Dynamic Markov Compression
Professor Robin Sinclair Cormack PhD, FSA (b. 1938), British classicist and art historian
Arthur Cormack (b. 1965), Scottish Gaelic singer and musician
Robert Cormack (b. 1946), Scottish Emeritus Professor at Queen’s University, Belfast
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Cormack 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: Sine Timore
Motto Translation: Without fear.