Craig History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Craig

What does the name Craig mean?

The Pictish clans of ancient Scotland were the ancestors of first people to use the name Craig. The name was found in Aberdeen (part of the modern Grampian region), and other shires across Scotland. The Craig surname is derived Scottish Gaelic word creag, meaning “a rock” which became the Scottish word “craig.” Craig is parish in Forfarshire which was “formerly called Inchbrayock, the ‘island of trout,’ by which name an island of thirty-four Scotch acres within the parish is still known. Craig was at that time only the designation of one of the chief estates, and it is supposed that, when the place of worship was transferred from the island to the property of Craig on the continental part of the district, the name of Craig, which is naturally derived from the rocky nature of the shore, was extended to the whole of the parish.” 1

Early Origins of the Craig family

The surname Craig was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland. This northern Clan was frequently associated with the Gordons, but their first records appeared in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire to the south about 1180. One of the first records of the name was Johannes del Crag who was witness to a charter by William the Lion. Later, Robertus de Crag witnessed a charter by Alexander II.