| ![Show Contents]() Laidlay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Etymology of LaidlayWhat does the name Laidlay mean? In the ancient Scottish-English border region, the ancestors of the name Laidlay lived among the Boernicians. They lived in Selkirk (now part of the region of Borders). "This place, which is of considerable antiquity, derives its name, in the Celtic tongue signifying 'the Church in the forest,' from the ancient state of the surrounding district, which was thickly covered with wood and appropriated as a royal chase." 1 They moved there from Laidlawstiel in Galashiels; however, it seems likely that Laidlawstiel was named after the family, not vice versa. Early Origins of the Laidlay familyThe surname Laidlay was first found in Selkirk, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. "There is a tradition that the Laidlaws had their origin in England, and the name has been traced over the Border down to the south of England under the variants Laidlaw, Laidley, Laidler, Ladly, and Ludlow. William of Lodelawe was charged in 1296 with concealing a horse from the English." 2 Early History of the Laidlay familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Laidlay research. Another 192 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1585, 1590, 1603, 1644, 1650, 1674, 1682, 1780, 1801, 1817 and 1845 are included under the topic Early Laidlay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Laidlay Spelling VariationsSpelling rules only evolved in the last few centuries with the invention of the printing press and the first dictionaries. Spelling variations are extremely common in names from before that period. Laidlay has been spelled Laidlaw, Laidlay, Laidler, Laidley, Ladlyle and others. Early Notables of the Laidlay familyWilliam Laidlaw (1780-1845), friend of Sir Walter Scott, was born 19 Nov. 1780, at Blackhouse, Selkirkshire, where his father was a sheep-farmer. In 1801 Hogg and Laidlaw helped Scott with materials for the ‘Border...
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Laidlay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Laidlay migration to the United States | + |
After making their great crossing, many Boernician-Scottish families settled along the east coast of North America. When the War of Independence broke out, United Empire Loyalists moved north to Canada while the rest stayed to fight. The ancestors of many of these Scots still populate the continent. This century, through Clan societies and other Scottish organizations, they began to rediscover their collective national heritage. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Laidlay or a variant listed above:
Laidlay Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- James Laidlay, a Scotch-Irish immigrant to New England in 1718
- James Laidlay, who settled in New Hampshire in 1718
| Contemporary Notables of the name Laidlay (post 1700) | + |
- John Watson Laidlay FRSE (1808-1885), Scottish merchant, numismatist and orientalist from Glasgow, son of John Laidlay Esq. Of Fleetwood in Lancashire
- John Ernest Laidlay (1860-1940), Scottish amateur golfer who invented the Overlapping grip, used by over 90% of the golfers today; he also played one match for the Scotland national cricket team in 1878
- Jessie Laidlay Weston (1850-1928), British independent scholar, medievalist and folklorist, working mainly on mediaeval Arthurian texts
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- 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)
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