McMurdy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

Originally, McMurdy was a nickname for a seagoing warrior. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Mhurchaidh, which means son of the sea warrior.

Early Origins of the McMurdy family

The surname McMurdy 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, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the McMurdy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McMurdy research. Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McMurdy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McMurdy 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. McMurdy has appeared in various documents spelled MacMurdo, MacMurdie, MacMurdy, Murdoson, MacMurdiston and many more.

Early Notables of the McMurdy family (pre 1700)

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

McMurdy migration to the United States +

Descendents of Dalriadan-Scottish families still populate many communities across North America. They are particularly common in Canada, since many went north as United Empire Loyalists at the time of the American War of Independence. Much later, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the highland games and Clan societies that now dot North America sprang up, allowing many Scots to recover their lost national heritage. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name McMurdy, or a variant listed above:

McMurdy Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jonathan McMurdy, who arrived in America in 1796 ^[1]
Robert McMurdy, who landed in America in 1796 ^[1]

McMurdy Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Anthony McMurdy, who arrived in New York in 1800 ^[1]
John McMurdy, aged 30, who landed in New York, NY in 1804 ^[1]
John McMurdy, who settled in New York in 1804
Benjamin, Jonathon, Robert McMurdy, who settled in Philadelphia in 1807

Contemporary Notables of the name McMurdy (post 1700) +

Robert McMurdy, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Illinois, 1904 ^[2]

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)
^ The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html