Show ContentsFlockhart History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient Dalriadan-Scottish name Flockhart is a nickname for a person who was brave. Flockhart is a nickname surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress. The surname Flockhart comes from the words loc and hardy, which mean lock and brave or hardy.

Early Origins of the Flockhart family

The surname Flockhart was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow, where this distinguished family acquired the estates of Carnwath, Cleghorn, Birkhill, Kirktoun, and Leigh.

The Lockharts of Leigh 1 trace their descent from Sir Simon Locard whose name some claim was derived from the territorial name "de Loch Ard." The family estate was centered at Lee Castle, originally built c. 1272 and was expanded in the 19th century.

Sir Simon Locard accompanied Sir James Douglas on his expedition with the heart of Robert the Bruce, which after Douglas' death brought home from Spain and buried in Melrose Abbey. This incident was the reason of the Arms' "man's heart within a fetterlock."

The Flockhart variant occurs "as Fluckart in Edinburgh, 1679" and "Robert Flockhart, 'Daddy Flockhart' (1777-1857), [was] a street preacher in Edinburgh." 2

Early History of the Flockhart family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Flockhart research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1621, 1630, 1646, 1652, 1658, 1674, 1675, 1685, 1686, 1689 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Flockhart History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Flockhart 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. Flockhart has appeared in various documents spelled Lockhart, Lockhard, Locard, Lockard, Lockheart and many more.

Early Notables of the Flockhart family

Notable amongst the family at this time was George Lockhart of Tarbrax (died 1658), Commissioner of Glasgow in the Parliament of Scotland (1646-1658); Sir James Lockhart of Lee (d. 1674), lord of the Court of Session, he held the judicial title Lord Lee; Sir William Lockhart of Lee (1621-1675)...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Flockhart Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Flockhart family to Ireland

Some of the Flockhart family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 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 Flockhart family

Significant portions of the populations of both the United States and Canada are still made up of the ancestors of Dalriadan families. Some of those in Canada originally settled the United States, but went north as United Empire Loyalists in the American War of Independence. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the ancestors of many Scots on both sides of the border begin to recover their collective national heritage through Clan societies and highland games. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: Robert Lockhard settled in Virginia in 1777; Gaven Lockhart settled in east New Jersey in 1685; Robert Lockhart settled in New York in 1820; Hugh, Isaac, Janet, John, Nicholas, Robert Lockhart, all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860..


Contemporary Notables of the name Flockhart (post 1700) +

  • Calista Kay Flockhart (b. 1964), American Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award winning and three-time Emmy Award nominated actress, best known for her lead role in the Fox television comedy series Ally McBeal
  • Thomas A. Flockhart, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Somerset County, 1930-32 3
  • Douglas "Dougie" Flockhart, Scottish professional rugby league and rugby union footballer
  • Alexander Andrew "Sandy" Flockhart CBE (b. 1951), Scottish former CEO of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC)
  • Ron Flockhart (1923-1962), Scottish racing driver and pilot killed on a test flight in poor weather near Kallista, Victoria
  • Robert Walter "Rob" Flockhart (1956-2021), Canadian professional ice hockey player who spent parts of five seasons in the National Hockey League
  • Ronald Everett "Ron" Flockhart (b. 1960), retired Canadian professional NHL ice hockey player who played from 1980 to 1991


The Flockhart 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: Corda serata pando
Motto Translation: I lay open locked hearts.


  1. Lee, Sir Stanley, Dictionary of National Biography. London: The MacMillan Company 1909. 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. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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