Spottiswoode Surname

1,118,459th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 217 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Jersey

Spottiswoode 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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Spottiswoode Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England931:599,11935,891
South Africa391:1,389,17274,222
United States351:10,355,970420,657
Australia151:1,799,71385,184
Scotland151:356,92115,763
Northern Ireland81:230,63010,839
Wales51:618,90625,852
Canada31:12,281,864364,614
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
Jersey11:99,2026,620
New Zealand11:4,528,32355,372
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland131:340,75912,983
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England471:518,62527,981
Scotland221:170,1466,794
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States61:8,369,781355,680

Spottiswoode 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)

A location name in Berwick.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Spottiswoode Last Name Facts

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

The last name Spottiswoode is carried by more people in England than any other country/territory. It can be rendered in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Spottiswoode? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 1,118,459th most frequent last name worldwide. It is borne by approximately 1 in 33,583,161 people. The last name Spottiswoode occurs mostly in Europe, where 57 percent of Spottiswoode live; 57 percent live in Northern Europe and 56 percent live in British Isles.

It is most frequently used in England, where it is borne by 93 people, or 1 in 599,119. In England Spottiswoode is most prevalent in: Greater London, where 12 percent live, Northumberland, where 10 percent live and East Sussex, where 9 percent live. Not including England this surname occurs in 11 countries. It is also common in South Africa, where 18 percent live and The United States, where 16 percent live.

Spottiswoode Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Spottiswoode has changed through the years. In England the share of the population with the surname grew 198 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it grew 583 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Scotland it declined 32 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Spottiswoode Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the Spottiswoode surname is chiefly Catholic (46%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Spottiswoode surname are 31.01% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 77.78% registered with the party.

The amount Spottiswoode earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 78.88% more than the national average, earning R 425,088 per year and in United States they earn 26.72% more than the national average, earning $54,677 USD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Spottiswood96481/
Spottswoode961/
Spottswood91373/
Spotiswood910/
Spotteswood871/
Spootiswood870/
Spotswood86990/
Spattswood820/
Spootswood820/
Spatswood760/
Spotside700/
Spotswadd671/

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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 Spottiswoode
  • 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