Terry Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Terry Family History

Terry Family History

The ancient origin of the name Terry was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The name Terry can be of both Gaelic and Anglo origin. When of Anglo origin it is derived from the Norman name 'Terri' which in turn is taken from the German 'Theudoric' meaning 'people rule'. After becoming established in England in the eleventh century families bearing the name settled in County Cork in the thirteenth century, after the Strongbow invasion of Ireland in the year 1172. Terry is also of Gaelic origin being derived from the Gaelic Mac Toirdealbhaigh sept that was located in Counties Armagh and Down in Ulster Province.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

It has a number of anglicized forms there including Turley, Terrence, Terry and is rendered as Curley in Counties Galway and Roscommon.The Terry 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 Terry descendants.