Sutherland Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Sutherland Family History

Sutherland Family History

The family history of the ancient name Sutherland was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The name Sutherland is usually of Scottish origin. The founder of the clan was Hugh, son or grandson of Freskin de Moravia, who, by his marriage, obtained the Clan territory about the time of William the Lion. Hugh's son, William, was created Earl of Sutherland about 1237, and died in 1248. William, second Earl won a great victory over the Danes at Ree-Cross. William third Earl, fought at Bannockburn, and his brother Kenneth, fourth Earl, fell at Halidon Hill. Dunrobin Castle is the seat of the Morair Chat, Chief of the Clan, Duke and Earl of Sutherland. William, the seventeenth Earl, left a daughter Elizabeth, whose right to the Earldom was established in 1771.

In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century. During the 'Plantations of Ireland' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Ireland was colonized by the English Crown with this period marking the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland. This period brought an influx of settlers into the country but, unlike the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century that resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.

The Sutherland 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 Sutherland descendants.