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Irish surname

Cross: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Mac an Chrosáin; de Crúis · Mac an Chrosáin: 'son of the rhymer' (Irish 'crosán'); de Crúis: 'of the cross' (Norman 'de Cruys', Latin 'de Cruce'), from residence by the roadside or market cross

Woulfe (1923) prints Cross as a form of two quite different names. One is Mac an Chrosáin, 'son of the rhymer', a Tirconnell family still numerous in Derry and Tyrone, and a Leinster family of bards. The other is de Crúis, the name of an Anglo-Norman family who obtained lands in Dublin and Meath. In 1890 there were 19 Cross birth entries in Ireland.

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Coat of arms associated with the Cross surname
Irish formMac an Chrosáin; de Crúis
MeaningMac an Chrosáin: 'son of the rhymer' (Irish 'crosán'); de Crúis: 'of the cross' (Norman 'de Cruys', Latin 'de Cruce'), from residence by the roadside or market cross
CountiesDublin, Cork, Armagh
Other spellings5
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Cross crest gifts

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Origin of the Cross name

Woulfe gives two sources. Mac an Chrosáin: 'a Tirconnell family' and 'a Leinster family who were bards to the O'Moores and O'Connors, in Leix and Offaly'. de Crúis: 'an Anglo-Norman family who came to Ireland at the time of the invasion and obtained lands in Dublin and Meath', chief seat at the Naul.[1][2]

  1. 14th centuryWoulfe: a Mac an Chrosáin was Bishop of Raphoe.[1]
  2. 16th centuryWoulfe: the Leinster family 'threw in its lot with the English in the 16th century, and assumed the English surname of Crosbie'.[1]
  3. 1653Woulfe: Peter Cruise of the Naul was transplanted to Connacht.[2]
  4. 1691Woulfe: many of the name de Crúis were attainted.[2]
  5. 189019 Cross birth entries in Ireland (Leinster 5, Munster 6, Ulster 8).[3]

Where in Ireland

Co. DublinMatheson 1890 lists Dublin first among the counties where Cross was principally found.[3]
Co. CorkAlso listed by Matheson as a county where Cross was principally found.[3]
Co. ArmaghAlso listed by Matheson as a county where Cross was principally found.[3]

Other spellings

Cruise · Cruice · de Crosse · Crossan · Crossin[2]

The Cross coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Cross surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

Cross surname: questions

What does the surname Cross mean?

Woulfe gives Cross for two names. Mac an Chrosáin means 'son of the rhymer'. de Crúis (Norman 'de Cruys', Latin 'de Cruce') means 'of the cross', from residence by the roadside or market cross.[1][2]

Is Cross an Irish or a Norman surname?

Woulfe prints Cross under both Mac an Chrosáin (a Tirconnell family and a Leinster family of bards) and de Crúis (an Anglo-Norman family who came at the time of the invasion). The sources do not say which applies to any one family named Cross.[1][2]

Where in Ireland is the name Cross found?

In 1890 Matheson listed Dublin, Cork and Armagh as the counties where Cross was principally found, out of 19 birth entries in Ireland.[3]

Are Cross, Cruise and Crosbie the same name?

Woulfe prints Cruise and Cross as forms of de Crúis. He says the Leinster family of Mac an Chrosáin 'assumed the English surname of Crosbie'; Crosbie appears in brackets in his forms list for that name.[1][2]

Sources

  1. Mac an Chrosáin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/maca/mac-an-chrosain.php
  2. de Crúis — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/d/de-cruis.php
  3. Cross — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/cross.php

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).