Currie is a surname in the English language. The name has numerous origins.

Currie
GenderUnisex
Language(s)English
Origin
Language(s)1–3. Scottish English
4. Scottish Gaelic
5. English
6. Old French
Word/name1. Currie, Midlothian
2. Corrie, Dumfriesshire
3. Curry
4. MacMhuirich
5. Curry, Somerset
6. curie
7. Currie, King Island (Tasmania)
Other names
See alsoCurry

Etymology

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In some cases it originated as a habitational name, derived from Currie in Midlothian, Scotland. In other cases it originated as a habitational name, derived from Corrie, in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. A third origin for the surname is that it originated as a Scottish spelling of the Irish surname Curry, a surname which has several origins.[1] A fourth origin of the surname, particularly on Arran, is as an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic MacMhuirich.[1][2] The Hebridean MacMhuirich evolved in such a way that the forms McVurich and McCurrie first appeared in the 17th century, and by the 18th century Currie is found on Islay, and on Uist by the 19th century.[3] Another origin of the surname is from Curry, in Somerset, England. In some cases the name may also be derived from the Old French curie, which means "kitchen".[4]

Early forms of the surname include: æt Curi, in about 1075; and de Cury, in 1212. Both forms are derived from the place name in Somerset. Other early forms include: atte Curie, in SRS 1327; and atte Corye. Early forms of the surname, derived from a Scottish place name, is de Curry, in 1179;[4] and de Curri, in 1210. An early form of the surname, when derived from MacMhuirich is M'Currie and Currie, in the early 18th century.[5]

It can be a Sept of Clan Donald or Clan Macpherson.

Persons with the surname

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References

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  1. ^ a b Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 22 December 2010, which cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4, for the surname "Currie", "Curry".
  2. ^ Black, George Fraser (1946), The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History, New York: New York Public Library, p. 569
  3. ^ Grimble, Ian (1977), Scottish Clans and Tartans, London: Hamlyn, pp. 61–62, ISBN 0-600-31935-0
  4. ^ a b Reaney, Percy Hilde (1995), Wilson, Richard Middlewood (ed.), A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 121, ISBN 0-19-863146-4.
  5. ^ Black, George Fraser (1946), The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History, New York: New York Public Library, pp. 193–194