Kirkpatrick Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Kirkpatrick Family History

Kirkpatrick Family History

The family history of the ancient name Kirkpatrick 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 Kirkpatrick include Kirk and Kilpatrick. This is a locational name from a Chapel formerly dedicated to Saint Patrick which gave its name to the Parish of Closeburn in Scotland. This is the original location of the sept.

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.

The name is first found in records relating to a Roger de Kirkpatrick who attested a charter by one of the Bruces who died in 1141. His heirs had a charter from Robert Bruce of a place between the fishings of Blawad and the Water of Esk in 1190. Part of the family migrated to Ireland and were notable Presbyterian clergymen in Ulster. Some of this sept abbreviated their name to Kirk. In Ireland this name is also sometimes a synonym of Kilpatrick.The Kirkpatrick 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 Kirkpatrick descendants.