Show ContentsLyndsay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Lyndsay family originally lived in the parish of Lindsay in the northern English county of Northumberland. Ealdric de Lindsay held estates in both Normandy and in Lincolnshire, England. He was a tenant of English estates for the Earl of Chester.

Early Origins of the Lyndsay family

The surname Lyndsay 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 they were descended from Randolph Lord of Toeni who was banished by Duke William from Normandy in 1058 along with many other knights.

He settled on the borders of Lincolnshire and Leicestershire and erected a barony known as Linesi including Belvoir Castle. When the Duke of Normandy invaded England he was again forced to move and settled on the lands of Crawford in Lanarkshire Scotland.

"The first of the name in Scotland is Sir Walter de Lindeseya, who appears as one of the witnesses in the Inquisitio of Earl David concerning the possessions and rights of the see of Glasgow in 1124. His great-grandson, Sir William de Lindeseia, was one of the hostages for King William the Lion, 1174," 1

"Lord Lindsay tells us the names Lindesay and Limesay are identical, both of them implying 'Isle of Lime-trees,' and are frequently interchanged, and applied to the same individuals in ancient public records and in the early transcripts of the Battle Abbey Roll." 2

John Lindsay (d. 1335) was "Bishop of Glasgow, belonged to the family of the Lindsays of Lambertoun in Berwickshire, and was descended from Sir Walter de Lindsay (d. 1222), second son of William Lindsay of Crawford, judiciary of Scotland under William the Lion. He was the son of Walter Lindsay of Lambertoun, and his name first appears as witness to one of the charters, dated about 1275, and preserved in the chartulary of Paisley." 3

Early History of the Lyndsay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lyndsay research. Another 275 words (20 lines of text) covering the years 1120, 1174, 1189, 1198, 1200, 1292, 1340, 1396, 1483, 1513, 1552, 1558, 1559, 1589, 1597, 1598, 1608, 1618, 1652, 1659, 1664, 1677, 1679, 1700, 1713, 1714, 1722, 1724, 1737, 1760, 1788 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Lyndsay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lyndsay Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Lindsay, Lyndsay, Lyndsey, Lindesey, Lindsey and many more.

Early Notables of the Lyndsay family

Notable among the family at this time was John Lindsay, 6th Earl of Crawford (before 1483-1513), an Earl of Crawford; Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Balcarres and 1st Earl of Balcarres (1618-1659), a Scottish nobleman; Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres (1652-1722), a Scottish aristocrat and politician; John Lindsay of Balcarres (1552-1598), Lord Menmuir, Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, 1597-1598; William Lindsay of Dovehill (died 1679), a Scottish Presbyterian minister serving in Perth, Scotland; Sir John Lindsay (1737-1788), a British naval officer; John Lindsay, 19th Earl of Crawford and...
Another 89 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lyndsay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Lyndsay family to Ireland

Some of the Lyndsay family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 278 words (20 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Lyndsay migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Lyndsay Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Lyndsay, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1767 4

Lyndsay migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5
Lyndsay Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century
  • William Lyndsay, who arrived in Antigua (Antego) in 1763 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Lyndsay (post 1700) +

  • Sir David Lyndsay, Scottish officer of arms and poet of the 16th century
  • Lyndsay DePaul (b. 1988), American four-time silver medalist butterfly and Individual medley swimmer
  • Lyndsay Wall (b. 1985), American silver and bronze medalist ice hockey player from Visalia, California


The Lyndsay 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: Endure fort
Motto Translation: Endure with strength.


  1. 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)
  2. Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
  3. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  4. 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)
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies


Houseofnames.com on Facebook