Sutherlin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Scotland

Etymology of Sutherlin

Sutherlin is a name whose ancestors lived among the Picts, a tribe in ancient Scotland. The Sutherlin family lived in the county of Sutherland in the north of Scotland. The name was derived from Old Norse suðr or "south" land, due to the area being south of Scandinavia and the Norse colonies in the Orkney and Shetland Islands. The Earls of Orkney referred to the Dales of Caithness as the Southland, even though they are in the more northern parts of Scotland. It was here that the great Lords of Freskin held their territory in the 11th century. They later intermarried with the great and royal house of Moray; hence, the three stars on the Sutherland coat of arms.

Sutherlin Coat of Arms Creation

The cat is the crest of the Sutherlands and the Mackintoshes. In the case of the Sutherlands, the cat has a paw uplifted as if to strike. Sir Robert Gordon of Aboyne, in his history of the Earldom of Sutherland, tells that when the Catti (a German tribe) were driven from their homes by the Romans in the first century, they were well received by the Scottish King, whom they assisted in all his valorous adventures.

As a reward they got lands "in the remotest limits which lay void of inhabitants." In order to take possession they landed at the river Unes, now the Little Ferry, in Sutherland. Here the leader went ashore to spy the land, but was suddenly set upon by " monstrous large cats." The fight between man and cats was long and fierce, but in the end the man, who fought "without fear," managed to kill them all. Ever since, the cat has been the crest of the Sutherlands, with the French motto, " Sans peur " (Without fear). The other motto is "Francas non flectas " (You may break but shall not bend me). 1

Early Origins of the Sutherlin family

Early History of the Sutherlin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sutherlin research. Another 440 words (31 lines of text) covering the years 1211, 1333, 1389, 1598, 1601, 1639, 1674, 1676, 1682, 1705, 1710, 1719, 1734, 1745, 1759, 1768 and 1794 are included under the topic Early Sutherlin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sutherlin Spelling Variations

The appearance of the printing press and the first dictionaries in the last few hundred years did much to standardize spelling. Prior to that time scribes spelled according to sound, a practice that resulted in many spelling variations. Sutherlin has been spelled Sutherland, Sutherlan, Suderland and many more.

Early Notables of the Sutherlin family

Alexander Sutherland, 1st Lord Duffus (d. 1674); James Sutherland, 2nd Lord Duffus (d. 1705); Kenneth Sutherland, 3rd Lord Duffus (d. 1734); James Sutherland (c. 1639-1719), the first...
Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sutherlin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Sutherlin family

The expense of the crossing to the North American colonies seemed small beside the difficulties of remaining in Scotland. It was a long and hard trip, but at its end lay the reward of freedom. Some Scots remained faithful to England and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others fought in the American War of Independence. Much of this lost Scottish heritage has been recovered in the last century through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Sutherlin: James Sutherland known as the Yellow Haired James (Seumas Buidhe), led the mass migration sponsored by the Sutherland Transatlantic Friendly Association to the Selkirk settlement along the Red River Valley in mid western Canada. In 1814, 700 refugees from the Highland Clearances around Straconan sailed aboard the sailing ships Prince of Wales and the Eddystone..