Carrick
A Scottish and Irish surname tied to rocky places, especially a crag or the district of Carrick in Ayrshire.
The #8,405 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 78,461 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Carrick is usually explained as a local surname from a rocky place-name. In Scottish usage, it refers to a crag or rocky locality, and by extension to the district of Carrick in Ayrshire. The underlying Celtic word is linked with the idea of rock or rough stone, and related forms also appear in Irish and Gaelic sources.
History
The name is especially associated with southwest Scotland, where Carrick is a historic district in Ayrshire. It also appears as a surname in Ireland and may sometimes reflect the same place-name element or, in some cases, a related French topographic form. Variants and spellings were recorded in older sources with some uncertainty, which is typical of medieval and early modern surname transmission.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The district of Carrick in Ayrshire is famous as the medieval title held by Robert the Bruce before he became king of Scotland.
From the historical record
“CARRERE. O. Fr. and Eng. a quarry. CARRICK. \. In Scotl. a crag or craig — any rocky locality. 2. The southern dis- trict of Ayrshire is so called. CARRIER. Originally a messenger. CARRINGTON. Places in cos. Chester and Lincoln. CARROLL. 1. Possibly from the ro- mantic rock so called in co. Sutherland. 2. A…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom