Gregg Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Gregg Family History

Gregg Family History

The family history of the ancient name Gregg was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Gregg include Gregorie, Greg, Greeg, Gregson, Greig and Grigg. This ancient name was originally borne by two fathers of the Orthodox church, Saint Gregory Nazianzene, 325-390, and Saint Gregory of Nyssa, 331-395. From about the tenth century onwards surnames began to be developed and it was not unusual to take the name of a Saint as surname. This name is usually of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in these countries. Examples of such are a Peter Gregory of Bedfordshire who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273. A Johannes Gregson and Willemus Gregge were recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379. In Scotland several early Bishops bore this name. A William filius Gregorii was recorded as being the Provost of Crail in the year 1330. In Ireland this name is mostly found in Counties Kerry and Galway where it is on record since the seventeenth century. The Gregg family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Gregg descendants.