Re: Does anyone know the meaning of the Surname Urquhart?
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In reply to:
Does anyone know the meaning of the Surname Urquhart?
Lesley Finlayson 7/06/03
Quoting from "SCOTTISH CLAN & FAMILY ENCYCLOPEDIA" by George Way and published by Barnes & Noble 1998, "Urquhart is derived from a place name, Airchart, which is first recorded in an early life of the great Celtic saint, Columba.""The meaning of the word itself has been variously translated from the Gaelic, including 'woodside', or 'by a rowan wood', or 'fort on a knoll'." (end of quote)
'Fort on a knoll' seems to be the most accepted descrip-tion, possibly because of Castle Urquhart (which sits on a rocky knoll) on the banks of Scotlands Loch Ness.
The surname, Urquhart, bears the classification of being territorial, meaning the first Urquharts took their name from a territory or place of that name.
There are several places in Scotland named Urquhart including, Glen Urquhart, the forest around Castle Urquhart on Loch Ness.
Ray Urquhart
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Re: Does anyone know the meaning of the Surname Urquhart?
Lesley Finlayson 7/19/03