Irvine
A Scottish locational surname meaning “from Irvine,” originally referring to the Ayrshire parish and river.
The #3,769 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,856 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Irvine is a locational surname taken from the place-name Irvine in Ayrshire, Scotland, especially the river and parish there. The place-name is ancient, and the surname therefore means, in effect, “one from Irvine.” Older sources also connect some bearers with nearby places, but the Ayrshire origin is the main and best-supported explanation.
History
The name is long associated with southwest Scotland, and by the Middle Ages it had become established as a family surname. Historical spellings include Irwin, Irvin, Irwyn, and related forms, with some overlap among Scottish and Irish families. Later writers sometimes distinguished Irvine from Irving, treating them as separate names even though they are often grouped together in older records.
Origin
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Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source says the surname had been in use for more than seven centuries by the time it was writing.
From the historical record
“more than seven centuries ago, IRVINE. A parish and a river of Ayr- shire. The family were of long standing in the S. and S.W. of Scotland, but the des- cendants of William de I., of Drum, co. Aberdeen, have been seated upon that estate ever since the days of king Robert Bruce, whose armour-bearer he was, and who…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom