Dempster History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  Scotland 
  Ireland 


The roots of the ancient Scottish name Dempster are found among the people of a tribe known as the Picts. Dempster is a name for a person who held the office of judex or dempster to the Parliament. Up until 1747, every barony held courts for trials in that barony and the judex was a baillie for the chief or laird. 1

Early Origins of the Dempster family

The surname Dempster was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland.

"Until the year 1747 every laird whose land had been erected into a barony was empowered to hold courts for the trial and punishment of certain offenders within his barony; and the dempster was part of his retinue. " 2

The first record of the name was "Haldan de Emester of Perthshire, who rendered homage in 1296 [to King Edward I of England], is to be read Haldan Deem ester." 2 His son, or grandson, Haldan Dempster, also inherited the lands of Menemuir. He was a Dempster and held court in that area.

Early History of the Dempster family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dempster research. Another 363 words (26 lines of text) covering the years 1360, 1361, 1364, 1370, 1379, 1388, 1428, 1579, 1585, 1602, 1625, 1684 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Dempster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dempster Spelling Variations

The appearance of the printing press and the first dictionaries in the last few hundred years did much to standardize spelling. Prior to that time scribes spelled according to sound, a practice that resulted in many spelling variations. Dempster has been spelled Dempster, Deemester, Dempstar, Demster and others.

Early Notables of the Dempster family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

Dempster Ranking

In the United States, the name Dempster is the 12,070th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Dempster family to Ireland

Some of the Dempster family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Dempster migration to the United States +

The expense of the crossing to the North American colonies seemed small beside the difficulties of remaining in Scotland. It was a long and hard trip, but at its end lay the reward of freedom. Some Scots remained faithful to England and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others fought in the American War of Independence. Much of this lost Scottish heritage has been recovered in the last century through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Dempster:

Dempster Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Dempster Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Dempster migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dempster Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Dempster migration to Australia +

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

Dempster Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Dempster 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:

Dempster Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Dempster migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9
Dempster Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Dempster (post 1700) +


The Dempster 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: Fortier et strenue
Motto Translation: Boldly and earnestly.
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