Carnegy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Carnegy was first found in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), part of the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire, where the was recorded as a family of great antiquity seated at Carnegie in the parish of Carmyllis in that shire. Confirmation of the grant of lands of Cairynegy was made by King David of Scotland in 1358 to then Chief of the Clan John Carnegie. He was descended from Jocelyn of Balinhard who was the progenitor of the family.

The former name of the Carnegies of Southesk was De Balinhard, but they assumed the name Carnegie in 1340 when they acquired the lands of Carnegie. Although the Clan can claim their initial descent from John de Balinhard, one of the first mentions of the name Carnegie was of Duthaac de Carnegy in 1383. A few years late, John Carnegy was the first of the name designated 'dominus ejusdem' or 'de eodem,' which is Anglicized to the expression 'of that Ilk' in 1450.

The line of descent from John de Balinhard died out in the 16th century, and so a new line was taken from his son Duthac. In 1663, David, the eighth Chief, was created the Earl of Southesk. Later, James Carnegie, the fifth Earl of Southesk was present at the raising of the Standard on the Braes of Mar in 1715 and was the hero of the song "The Piper o' Dundee." His support for King James in the rising of 1715 and the defeat of the Jacobites lead eventually to the loss of the earldom. The Carnegies were generally loyal to the Stewart claim to the throne. Interestingly, Sir Alexander Cornegie of Pitarro managed to somehow have the earldom reinstated, and he became the ninth Earl of Southesk. Another branch of the family began the earldom of Ethie, and later managed to have it renamed the Earldom of Northesk in the 17th century.