Spottiswood Surname

634,180th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 481 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Australia
Highest density in:
Australia

Spottiswood Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Spottiswoode.' 'The name is derived from the barony of Spottiswoode. The family were benefactors to the abbeys of Melrose and Kelso in early times. The ancestor ... was Robert de Spottiswood, who was born in the reign of King Alexander III, and died in that of Robert Bruce' (Lower, quoting Burke's Landed Gentry).

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Spottiswood Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Australia1981:136,34214,722
England1131:493,08031,588
United States911:3,983,065216,270
Canada541:682,32655,162
Northern Ireland101:184,5049,341
Belgium81:1,437,08092,692
United Arab Emirates31:3,054,09190,853
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
New Zealand11:4,528,32355,372
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland61:738,31121,113
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England391:625,00931,098
Scotland321:116,9765,458
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States91:5,579,854232,921

Spottiswood Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Spottiswoode.' 'The name is derived from the barony of Spottiswoode. The family were benefactors to the abbeys of Melrose and Kelso in early times. The ancestor ... was Robert de Spottiswood, who was born in the reign of King Alexander III, and died in that of Robert Bruce' (Lower, quoting Burke's Landed Gentry). Spottiswood is in the parish of Gordon, Berwickshire The American form existed in England at one time.

1613. Robert Spotswood, Exeter Coll.: Register of the University of Oxford.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

From the barony of Spottiswood in the parish of Gordon, Berwickshire, The first of the name who appears in history is Robert de Spotteswode of the county of Berewyk, who pledged adherence to Edward I in 1296 (Bain, II, p. 203). His seal bears a wild boar passant, S' Rob' de Spottiswod (ibid., p. 544). William de Spottiswod, notary public, verified the proceedings which on 15th December 1309 were adopted in Scotland against the Knights Templars (Wilkins, Concilia, II, p. 383). Gavin Spottiswod witnessed an instrument of sasine in 1525 (Home, 35). John Spottiswood (1565-1639), archbishop or St. Andrews, wrote a History of the Church and State of Scotland, published in 1655. Alexander Spotswood, a scion of that Ilk, was one of the ablest and most popular of the representatives of the Crown authority in the early American colonies (1710-1722), and the principal encourager of the growth of tobacco which laid the foundation of Virginia's wealth and also that of Glasgow's "Tobacco Lords." Spotswode 1642, Spotswood 1688, Spottyswod 1368.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(English) belonging to Spottiswood (Berwick) = Spot(t)’s Wood [the pers. name is no doubt a nickname (as in the case of Wulfric Spot, Earl of Mercia, d. 1010) from Middle English Old English spot, a spot (cp. Old Norse spotti, spott-r, m., a bit, small piece; and Middle Dutch spotten, to spot, stain) rather than from Old Norse spiót, n., a spear] "... Robert de Spottiswood, who was born in the reign of King Alexander III.

and died in that of Robert Bruce”.—Burke’s Landed Gentry.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

The name is derived from the barony of Spottiswoode. The family were benefactors to the Abbeys of Melrose and Kelso in early times. The immediate ancestor of Spottiswoode, still "of that Ilk," was Robert de Spottiswood, who was born in the reign of King Alexander III., and died in that of Robert Bruce. B.L.G. Spottiswood is in the parish of Gordon, co. Berwick.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local: from the Barony of Spottiswoode in Berwickshire. The family are descended from Robert de Spottiswoode, temp. Alexander III.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

Spottiswood Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Spottiswood Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Spottiswood has its highest incidence in Australia. It can also occur as:. For other potential spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Spottiswood? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 634,180th most frequent last name world-wide It is held by approximately 1 in 15,150,823 people. This last name occurs predominantly in Oceania, where 41 percent of Spottiswood live; 41 percent live in Australasia and 41 percent live in Australia and New Zealand.

The last name Spottiswood is most frequently used in Australia, where it is borne by 198 people, or 1 in 136,342. In Australia it is most prevalent in: Victoria, where 35 percent are found, Queensland, where 31 percent are found and New South Wales, where 28 percent are found. Aside from Australia this surname is found in 10 countries. It is also found in England, where 23 percent are found and The United States, where 19 percent are found.

Spottiswood Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Spottiswood has changed through the years. In England the number of people carrying the Spottiswood surname increased 290 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in The United States it increased 1,011 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Spottiswood Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the surname is primarily Anglican (80%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Spottiswood last name are 11.56% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 58.33% registered with the party.

The amount Spottiswood earn in different countries varies somewhat. In United States they earn 5.36% less than the national average, earning $40,835 USD per year and in Canada they earn 8.59% more than the national average, earning $53,950 CAD per year.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Spottiswood
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis