Contents [hide]

Girvan History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Girvan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The Girvan surname is a habitational name, taken on from Girvan, a place name in Ayrshire.

Early Origins of the Girvan family

The surname Girvan was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire, 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 Girvan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Girvan research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1550 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Girvan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Girvan Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Girvan, Girvane, Girvin, Girwan and others.

Early Notables of the Girvan family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Sir William Girvan

Migration of the Girvan family to Ireland

Some of the Girvan family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Girvan migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Girvan Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Sarah Girvan, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1773

Girvan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Girvan who settled in Philadelphia in 1802
James Girvan, who landed in New York, NY in 1830 1
Gilbert Girvan, who landed in New York, NY in 1831 1

Girvan 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:

Girvan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Bridget Girvan, aged 24, a servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dunedin" in 1875 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Girvan (post 1700) +

Norman Girvan, American Professorial Research Fellow at the UWI Graduate Institute of International Relations
Graham Girvan (b. 1990), Scottish football defender
Paul Girvan (b. 1963), Northern Irish politician, Mayor of Newtownabbey (2002-2004)
Sir Frederick Paul Girvan (b. 1948), Northern Irish jurist, Lord Justice of Appeal of the Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland
Norman P. Girvan (1941-2014), Jamaican professor and politician, Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (2000-2004)
Rory Girvan (b. 1987), British stage and screen actor
Brigadier John Pollard Girvan (b. 1885), Commanding Officer 14th Canadian Infantry Brigade (1942) 3
Girvan Teall, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Vienna, 1926-27; Corinto, 1932; Barranquilla, 1938
Girvan Dempsey (b. 1975), Irish retired rugby union footballer

Historic Events for the Girvan family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Edward John Girvan, British Stoker 1st Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 4

Citations +

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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 9th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, September 15) John Girvan. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Girvan/John_Pollard/Canada.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html