Show ContentsCrombie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Crombie is a Dalriadan-Scottish name, no doubt originally for a person who 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 Crombie family

The surname Crombie 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.

Early History of the Crombie family

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

Crombie Spelling Variations

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. Crombie has appeared in various documents spelled Crombie, Cromby, Crommie, Crommy, Cromy, Cromie, Crumbie, Crummie, Crumby, Croombie, Croommie and many more.

Early Notables of the Crombie family

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

Ireland Migration of the Crombie family to Ireland

Some of the Crombie 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 Crombie migration to the United States +

Many who arrived from Scotland settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would go on to become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. In the American War of Independence, many settlers who remained loyal to England went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Their descendants later began to recover the lost Scottish heritage through events such as the highland games that dot North America in the summer months. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Crombie family emigrate to North America:

Crombie Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Leonard Crombie, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1754
  • James Crombie, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1765
Crombie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Andrew Creach Crombie, who landed in North Carolina in 1864 [2]
  • John Crombie, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1866 [2]
  • William Crombie, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1868

New Zealand Crombie migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Crombie Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • D. Crombie, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "William Watson" in 1859
  • D. Crombie, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "William Watson" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th February 1859 [3]
  • W. A. Crombie, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "City of Auckland" in 1870

Contemporary Notables of the name Crombie (post 1700) +

  • Peter B. Crombie (b. 1952), American film and television actor
  • Deborah Crombie (b. 1952), American author
  • Jamie Crombie (b. 1965), American-born bronze medalist squash player at the 1995 Pan American Games
  • William S. Crombie, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 5 aerial victories
  • James Crombie D.D. (1730-1790), Scottish Presbyterian minister, founder of Belfast Academy, eldest son of James Crambie [4]
  • The Rev Dr Alexander Crombie (1762-1840), Scottish Presbyterian minister, schoolmaster and philosopher [4]
  • John William Crombie (1858-1908), Scottish woollen manufacturer, folklorist and Liberal Party politician
  • Sean Crombie (b. 1986), Scottish professional rugby union player
  • Lillian Crombie (1958-2024), Aboriginal Australian actress and dancer, known for her work on stage, film and television
  • Charles Arbuthnot Crombie DSO DFC (1914-1945), Australian flying ace of the Second World War
  • ... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Douglas James Crombie, British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking [5]


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. 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)
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  4. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020
  5. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html


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