Cunynman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Scotland
• Ireland

Etymology of Cunynman

Cunynman is a Dalriadan-Scottish name, no doubt originally for a person who lived at Cunningham in Ayrshire. However, numerous branches of the Cunningham family spread all over Scotland. Two of the most prominent branches of the Cunningham Clan, the Cunninghams of Corsehill and the Cunninghams of Caprington, trace their ancestry back to the medieval era.

Cunynman Coat of Arms Creation

The Cuninghames have as their crest a unicorn, and the motto is, " Over fork over."

The unicorn is so named from its having only one horn, which grows out of its forehead. It represents strength, a haughty mind, and one who would rather die than be brought into subjection. The horn was said to possess a powerful antidote against poison, and that other animals were glad to drink of water stirred by the horn.

As to the motto, the story is that Malcolm, the first of the family, assisted Malcolm (afterwards King Malcolm Canmore) to escape when pursued by Macbeth, by forking straw or hay over him. The King afterwards rewarded him by the gift of the Thanedom of Cuninghame, and the figure on the shield like the letter Y represents the shake-fork. The other story is that the motto is derived from the fact that an ancestor had charge of the King's horses, and the shakefork was the instrument by which hay was forked to them. 1

Early Origins of the Cunynman family

Early History of the Cunynman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cunynman research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1490, 1520, 1548, 1574, 1575, 1578, 1610, 1630, 1664, 1670, 1716 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Cunynman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cunynman 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. Cunynman has appeared in various documents spelled Cunningham, Cunninghame, Cunyngham, Cunnyngham, Cunnynghame, Cummingham and many more.

Early Notables of the Cunynman family

Cuthbert Cunningham, 3rd Earl of Glencairn; William Cunningham, 4th Earl of Glencairn (c. 1490-1548), a Scottish nobleman; Alexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of Glencairn (died 1574), Scottish nobleman and Protestant reformer; William Cunningham, 6th Earl of Glencairn (ca. 1520-1578); James Cunningham, 7th Earl of Glencairn (died 1630), a Scottish peer, member of...
Another 51 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cunynman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cunynman family to Ireland

Some of the Cunynman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cunynman family

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 Cunynman family emigrate to North America: John Cunningham, his wife and son, who settled in Barbados in 1679.