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The Romkay family comes from the ancient Scottish Dalriadan clans of the mountainous west coast of Scotland. The name Romkay is derived from the personal name Randolph, with the addition of the diminutive suffix -kin.
The surname Romkay was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire.
"There is a tradition of descent from one John, son of a knight called Jacob de Rankine, burgomaster of Ghent, who married a daughter of the head of the house of Keith, and became progenitor of the Rankines. " 1 This tradition is difficult to prove but was nevertheless authored by M. H. Rankin, Esq.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Romkay research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1587, 1600, 1629, 1672, 1719 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Romkay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. Romkay has appeared in various documents spelled Rankin, Ranken, Ranking, Rankene, Rankine and others.
Notable amongst the Clan from early times was Lieutenant John Rankin (ca 1600s), British Royal Navy, eponym of Rankin Inlet, Canada.
Alexander Ramkins (c.1672-1719) was a Scottish adherent of James II, born...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Romkay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 105 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Romkay or a variant listed above: Lawlin Rankin, who settled in Virginia in 1650; Andrew Rankin settled in New England in 1651; Alexander Rankin settled in Boston in 1764; Alexander, Andrew, David, Henry, Hugh, James, John, Robert, Thomas and William Rankin all arrived in Philadelphia between 1800 and 1870..