Orris History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Dalriada, in ancient Scotland, is where the name Orris evolved. It was a name for someone who lived on a bank, or on the edge of a hill. The Orris surname arose independently from different sources. In some instances, it came from the Old English word ora, which means "edge" and was probably a name for someone who lived on a bank, or on the edge of a hill. Orris also came form the Old Norse name Orri, which meant "black rooster." 1 It also emerged from the Gaelic word, odhar, which meant "pale" and would have been a nickname that became a surname. 2
Early Origins of the Orris family
The surname Orris was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland.
"It is a numerous name in the West end of the shire of Renfrew in the parish of Lochwinnoch. Hew Orr rendered homage in 1296 [to King Edward I of England]. Four persons named Or were summoned to answer charges made against them by the abbot of Paisley, 1503. John Or was witness in Glasgow, 1550, Matthew Ore in Paisley, 1654, and James Orre in Barneth, 1678." 3
There are also scattered entries for the family in England. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Egidiu de Or in Kent and later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Matilda Orre; and Johannes Ore. 4
Roger Orre was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1202 and William Orre was listed at Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1277. Robert Orre was found in Kent in the Subsidy Rolls for 1334-1335. Agnes de Ore was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Wiltshire, 1210-1211 and Peter de Ore was found in Warwickshire, 1264-1265. William de Ore was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Kent in 1334-1335. 5
And to the far south of England in Devon, "the original Cathedral of Crediton was dedicated to the Virgin, and stood on or near the site of the present Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross. Herein it is recorded that on the 1st of August, 1315, one Thomas Orey, of Keynesham, who had been totally blind, recovered his sight after spending two days in prayer before the altar of St. Nicholas. Bishop Stapledon, being satisfied of the truth of the miracle, ordered the bells to be rung and a solemn thanksgiving offered, and set forth the event in his 'Register.' " 6
Early History of the Orris family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Orris research. Another 237 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1503, 1512, 1550, 1578, 1613, 1640, 1654, 1678, 1717, 1740, 1748, 1770, 1797, 1798, 1816 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Orris History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Orris Spelling Variations
Medieval translation of Gaelic names could not be referred to as an accurate process. Spelling was not yet standardized, and names in documents from that era are riddled with spelling variations. Orris has been written as Orr, Ore, Orre, Orey and others.
Early Notables of the Orris family
Notable amongst the family at this time was Hugh Orr (1717-1798), Scottish born inventor, son of Robert Orr of Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, born at Lochwinnoch on 13 Jan. 1717. "Brought up to the trade of a gunsmith and door-lock filer, at the age of twenty he emigrated to America, and in June 1740 he settled at Bridgewater, in Massachusetts, where he manufactured scythes and edge-tools. He set up the first trip-hammer ever constructed in Massachusetts, and he succeeded in spreading the manufacture of edge-tools through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. In 1748 he made five hundred muskets for the province of Massachusetts...
Another 109 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Orris Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Orris Ranking
In the United States, the name Orris is the 15,096th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 7
Migration of the Orris family to Ireland
Some of the Orris family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 210 words (15 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Orris migration to the United States +
Descendents of Dalriadan-Scottish families still populate many communities across North America. They are particularly common in Canada, since many went north as United Empire Loyalists at the time of the American War of Independence. Much later, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the highland games and Clan societies that now dot North America sprang up, allowing many Scots to recover their lost national heritage. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Orris, or a variant listed above:
Orris Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Mr. George Orris, (b. 1614), aged 21, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Elizabeth and Anne" arriving in Massachusetts Bay (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire) in 1635 8
- George Orris, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1646 9
Orris Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Robert W Orris, who arrived in New York in 1835 9
- Denis Orris, aged 22, who immigrated to the United States, in 1894
Orris Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- Henry Orris, who immigrated to the United States, in 1911
- George Orris, aged 19, who immigrated to America, in 1919
- G. Orris, who landed in America, in 1920
- George Orris, aged 33, who landed in America, in 1921
- Letterio Orris, aged 26, who landed in America, in 1921
Contemporary Notables of the name Orris (post 1700) +
- Peter Orris (b. 1945), American political activist, physician and Professor and Chief of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago Hospital and Health Sciences System
- Walter L. Orris, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Pennsylvania State Senate 40th District, 1954 10
- Elmer Orris, American politician, Delegate to Iowa convention to ratify 21st amendment from Madison County, 1933 10
- Robert Orris Blake (1921-2015), American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mali from 1970 to 1973
- Orris Sanford Ferry (1823-1875), American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State Senate 12th District, 1855-56; U.S. Representative from Connecticut 4th District, 1859-61 11
- Orris Sanford Ferry (1823-1875), American lawyer and politician, from Connecticut who served in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate
- Orris U. Kellogg, American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Cortland County, 1878; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1904 12
- Orris Nordhaugen, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from North Dakota, 1944 13
- Orris L. Head (b. 1877), American politician, Mayor of Madison, Indiana, 1943-44 14
- Orris Hart, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Oswego County, 1827-28 15
The Orris 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: Bonis omnia bona
Motto Translation: All things are good to the good.
Citations +
- Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- 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)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's. Retrieved 24th September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
- 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)
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html