Show ContentsCrombey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The forbears of the name Crombey are thought to be of the ancient Scottish kingdom of Dalriada. The name indicates that the first bearer lived in the place Crombie, in the parish of Aucterless in the shire of Aberdeen. The place-name Crombie was originally derived from the Gaelic term "crom," which means "crooked."

The Cromarty variant probably hails from Cromarty, a burgh of barony, sea-port, and parish, in the county of Ross and Cromarty, 175 miles from Edinburgh. "This place, of which the Gaelic name, Crom Ba, signifying the crooked bay, is derived from the winding shore of the Frith of Cromarty, appears to have attained to some importance at an early period, though few details of its ancient history are recorded. " 1

Early Origins of the Crombey family

The surname Crombey was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, on the lands of Crummy. The land belonged to the Abbey of Culross, which was built on land gifted by Malcolm, 7th Earl of Fife, in 1217, during the reign of Alexander II. 2

Early History of the Crombey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crombey research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1450, 1516, 1600, 1797 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Crombey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crombey Spelling Variations

Medieval spelling was at best an intuitive process, and translation between Gaelic and English was no more effective. These factors caused an enormous number of spelling variations in Dalriadan names. In fact, it was not uncommon to see a father and son who spelled their name differently. Over the years, Crombey has been spelled Crombie, Cromby, Crommie, Crommy, Cromy, Cromie, Crumbie, Crummie, Crumby, Croombie, Croommie and many more.

Early Notables of the Crombey family

More information is included under the topic Early Crombey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Crombey family to Ireland

Some of the Crombey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 90 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Crombey migration to the United States +

Many settled along the east coast of what would become the United States and Canada. As the American War of Independence broke out, those who remained loyal to the crown went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of all of these hardy Dalriadan-Scottish settlers began to recover their collective history in the 20th century with the advent of the vibrant culture fostered by highland games and Clan societies in North America. Highland games, clan societies, and other organizations generated much renewed interest in Scottish heritage in the 20th century. The Crombey were among the earliest of the Scottish settlers as immigration passenger lists have shown:

Crombey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Andrew Crombey, who landed in New England in 1747 3


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. 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)
  3. 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)


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