Cars History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

Etymology of Cars

What does the name Cars mean?

A people of the Scottish/English Borderlands known as the Strathclyde Britons were the first to use the name Cars. It is derived from the Scotish word kerss, or carse, which describes low, fertile land, often next to a river. The surname may well be a habitational name taken on from any of several places so named, such as Carse of Falkirk, Carse of Forth, Carse of Gowrie, Carse in Kirkcudbrightshire, or Carse in Argyllshire.

Early Origins of the Cars family

The surname Cars was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Cars family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cars research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1206 and 1410 are included under the topic Early Cars History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cars Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Cars has been spelled Carse, Carss, Cars, Carsey and others.

Early Notables of the Cars family

Sir Mark Carse of Fordelcarse

Cars migration to the United States +

Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them:

Cars Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Cars, who arrived in America in 1804 1

The Cars 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: Nil fatalia terrent
Motto Translation: Things decreed by fate do not dismay us

Sources +

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)