| ![Show Contents]() Grigory History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
Etymology of GrigoryWhat does the name Grigory mean? The Hebrides islands and the west coast of Scotland are the ancestral home of the Grigory family. Their name comes from the given name Gregory. The Gaelic form of the name was Mac Griogain, which translates as son of Gregory. Grigory Coat of Arms CreationThe MacGregors have for their motto " E'en do and spair nocht," and in this case the story goes that when William the Lion was out hunting a wild boar rushed to attack him. Sir Malcolm MacGregor asked permission to encounter the animal. The King answered in the words of the motto. MacGregor immediately tore up a pine sapling and killed the boar. For this the King gave Sir Malcolm liberty to use his words as a motto, and this the clan has done ever since. In their coat-of-arms there is a tree torn up by the roots. The MacGregors refused to join the Covenant against their King, and declared that, as they bore the crown on the point of their sword, they would use the sword in defending the crown. It was only in 1775 that the proscription of the name MacGregor was finally removed. The MacGregors have for a crest a lion's head crowned with an antique crown, and besides the motto given above, they have the Gaelic one, " 'S Rioghal Mo Dhream " (Royal is my race). Their slogan is " Ard Choille." 1 The reason for the motto "Royal is my race" is because they claim Gregor was the brother of Kenneth MacAlpin (810-858), Kenneth I was King of Dál Riada (841-850), and King of the Picts (848-858.) Indeed, the Coat of Arms for the MacGregors is very similar to the one used by Kenneth MacAlpin. Early Origins of the Grigory familyThe surname Grigory was first found in Argyllshire (Gaelic erra Ghaidheal), the region of western Scotland corresponding roughly with the ancient Kingdom of Dál Riata, in the Strathclyde region of Scotland, now part of the Council Area of Argyll and Bute, as their origins can be traced back to Griogair, son of the eighth century King Alpin of Scotland, the High King of the Scots and Picts who died in 860 AD. Hence, their famous motto translates from Gaelic as 'Royal is my blood.' They are the principal branch of the Siol Alpine whose representative, King Kenneth the Hardy, was son of MacAlpin, the first King of the Scots. Early History of the Grigory familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grigory research. Another 491 words (35 lines of text) covering the years 1000, 1587, 1603, 1640, 1671, 1734, 1888 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Grigory History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Grigory Spelling VariationsMedieval translation of Gaelic names could not be referred to as an accurate process. Spelling was not yet standardized, and names in documents from that era are riddled with spelling variations. Grigory has been written as MacGregor, MacGrigor, MacGrioghair (Gaelic) and others. Early Notables of the Grigory familyAnother 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Grigory Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Grigory family to IrelandSome of the Grigory family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Grigory 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 Grigory or a variant listed above:
Grigory Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Joseph Grigory, who arrived in Virginia in 1651 2
| Contemporary Notables of the name Grigory (post 1700) | + |
- Grigory Kirillovich Razumovsky (1759-1837), Russian geologist, botanist and zoologist and prominent political dissenter with Imperial Russia, who lost his Russian allegiance in 1811 and was subsequently incorporated into the Bohemian nobility
- Grigory Sokolov (b. 1950), Russian pianist
- Grigory Ivanovich Gurkin (1870-1937), Russian landscape painter
- Grigory Gagarin (1810-1893), Russian painter
- Grigory V Romanov (1923-2008), Soviet official, the major rival of Mikhail Gorbachev in succession battle to lead the Soviet Union upon the death of Konstantin Chernenko in 1985
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: 'S Rioghal Mo Dhream
Motto Translation: Royal is my blood.
- Polson, Alexander, The Romance of Scottish Crests and Mottoes. Inverness: Walter Alexander, Inglis Street 1929. Print
- 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)
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