Erskine (surname)

Erskine is a Scottish surname. The name is derived from a habitational name from a location (Erskine) on the southern bank of the River Clyde, near Glasgow. This place was first recorded in 1225 as Erskin. Early spellings of the place include: Yrskin (1227); Ireskin (1262); Harskin (1300), and Irschen (1300).[1] The Scottish Gaelic form of the surname is Arascain.[2] Legend dictates that the name was given by King Malcolm II to a man who killed the Danish General Enrique at the Battle of Murthill. He is said to have shown the bloody knife to king and said eris-skyne, meaning "upon the knife". The King, in honour of his valour, granted him the surname Eriskine.[3]

Erskine
The River Clyde seen from Erskine Bridge, 2007.
Origin
Region of originScotland
Other names
Variant form(s)Arascain

List of people with the surname

See also

References

  1. Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 25 September 2010 which cited Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508137-4. for the surname "Erskine".
  2. Macfarlane, Malcolm (1912), The School Gaelic Dictionary prepared for the use of learners of the Gaelic language, Stirling: Eneas Mackay, p. 149
  3. Arthur, William (1857). An etymological dictionary of family and Christian names. Sheldon, Blakeman & Co. p. 125.
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