Garrey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Garrey

What does the name Garrey mean?

The west coast of Scotland and the rocky Hebrides islands are the ancient home of the Garrey family. The root of their name is the name Macara, which is the Gaelic word for son of the young, manly one.

Early Origins of the Garrey family

The surname Garrey was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Garrey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Garrey research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1690, 1745, 1815 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Garrey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Garrey 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. Garrey has appeared in various documents spelled McAree, MacAree, McAra, MacAra, McArra, MacArra, McCarra, MacCarra, McCarry, MacCarry, McCarrie and many more.

Early Notables of the Garrey family

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

Migration of the Garrey family to Ireland

Some of the Garrey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 106 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Garrey migration to the United States +

Ancestors of many of the Dalriadan families who crossed the Atlantic still live along the east coast of the United States and Canada. Some Scottish settlers arrived in Canada during the American War of Independence as United Empire Loyalists, while others stayed south to fight for a new nation. The descendants of Scottish settlers in both countries began to rediscover their heritage in the 19th and 20th centuries through Clan societies and highland games. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Garrey or a variant listed above:

Garrey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Margaret Garrey, aged 24, who landed in New York in 1854 1

Sources +

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)