Monroe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The annals of Scottish history reveal that Monroe was first used as a name by ancestors of the Pictish tribe of ancient Scotland. The Monroe family lived near the foot of the river Roe in the Irish county of Derry. The Gaelic form of the name is Rothach, which means a man of Ro or a man from Ro.

Early Origins of the Monroe family

The surname Monroe was first found in Cromartyshire, where they were descended from Donadl O’Kane and his Irish sept, who left their homeland at the mouth of the river Roe, in Ireland and settler in Ferrindonald in Cromarty, in the 11th century. Other historians suggest the name was originally Monrosse, because they were Mountaineers of Ross. In this case, their traditional origin is from the Siol O’Cain, an ancient Pictish tribe descended from Anselan O’Cain in North Moray, which also produced the Buchanans and the MacMillans.