Show ContentsDunbarr History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Dunbarr

What does the name Dunbarr mean?

The Dunbarr surname is derived from the name of the Barony of Dunbar on the North Sea coast near Edinburgh. The place name comes from the Gaelic words "dùn," meaning "a fort," and "barr," meaning "top," or "summit."

Early Origins of the Dunbarr family

The surname Dunbarr was first found in the barony of Dunbar in the Lothians where they held a family seat from very ancient times; ever since the 11th century, when Cospatrick was deprived of his Earldom of Northumberland by William the Conqueror, and fled to Scotland. There he was granted the lands of Dunbar and Lothian, Cumnock in Ayrshire, and Mochrum in Wigtown by Malcolm Ceanmore, the King of Scotland. Traditionally, the family descend from Crinan of Dunkeld, the Earl of Northumberland, ancestor of both King Duncan I (d. 1040) and the Earls Gospatrick, who were the later the Earls of March. Of this line, Patrick V, Earl of March (c.1285-1369) gave English King Edward II sanctuary at the fortress of Dunbar Castle following the Battle of Bannockburn. He was one of the Scottish nobles, who signed, the declaration of Scottish independence to the Pope dated at Arbroath on 6 April 1320. He was married to the infamous "Black Agnes," (Agnes Dunbar, 4th Countess of Moray), "that brawling boisterous Scottish wench" as an English balladeer had called her. In the Earl's absence, she held Dunbar castle for several months before succumbing to the overwhelming English army in 1337.

Early History of the Dunbarr family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dunbarr research. Another 174 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1291, 1320, 1435, 1465, 1530, 1797 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Dunbarr History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dunbarr Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dunbar, Dunbarr and others.

Early Notables of the Dunbarr family

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

Migration of the Dunbarr family to Ireland

Some of the Dunbarr family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Dunbarr migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dunbarr Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Alexander Dunbarr, who landed in Virginia in 1654 1
  • John Dunbarr, aged 22, who arrived in Maryland in 1684 1
Dunbarr Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Dunbarr, who settled in Virginia in 1716
  • Jeremiah Dunbarr, who arrived in Maryland in 1716 1
  • Jerom Dunbarr, who arrived in Maryland in 1716 1

Dunbarr migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 2
Dunbarr Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • William Dunbarr, who settled in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635
  • William Dunbarr, aged 15, who landed in St Christopher in 1635 1
  • Mr. William Dunbarr, (b. 1620), aged 15, British settler traveling aboard the ship "William and John" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 3


  1. 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)
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  3. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm


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