CARNEGIE
Carnegie is a surname of Gaelic origin, borne primarily in Scotland and Ireland. Its roots lie in the ancient Celtic languages that once flourished across the British Isles, and it is associated with the Christian peoples of those regions.
The name is derived from the Scottish place called Carnegie in Angus. Linguistic evidence suggests it combines the Gaelic words cearnach, meaning a cairn or pile of stones, and eg, meaning face or hill. Consequently, Carnegie can be interpreted to mean “cairn hill” or a hill marked by a pile of stones.
Carnegie was first recorded as the name of a barony in the parish of Carmyllie within Angus. The barony originally bore the Old Gaelic name “cathair an eige”, that is, a fort associated with a gap or nick. The family that came to hold the lands, previously known as de Balinhard, adopted the name Carnegie in the mid‑fourteenth century. The earliest surviving spelling is that of Duthac de Carnegy, a witness to a deed dated 1383 in the Episcopal Register of Aberdeen during the reign of King Robert XI.
The surname is most notable for its association with the Earls of Southesk and the Earls of Northesk. The family accumulated a number of coats of arms; the one most closely connected to the Earls of Southesk features a gold shield with an azure eagle displayed, a red beak and talons, and a covered cup charged upon the breast. A thunder‑bolt proper forms the crest and the motto is Dread God. Members of the family have served as envoys to England and France in the sixteenth century and played prominent roles in the navy, most famously William Carnegie, the seventh Earl of Northesk, who served as rear‑admiral at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and was promoted to the rank of admiral in 1806.
During the nineteenth century, the name became widely associated with Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish emigrant who amassed a vast fortune through investments in oil, railways, iron, and steel. His philanthropy led to the establishment of numerous institutions, including Carnegie libraries, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Mellon University and Carnegie Hall in New York. The surname therefore carries connotations of both industrial success and humanitarian endeavour.
Today Carnegie remains a surname of modest frequency in the United States, ranking around the five‑hundred‑six‑tenth most common. It is most prevalent in Pennsylvania, New York and California, and the name also appears in smaller numbers in Canada, Norway and Sweden. In its place of origin, Scotland, the surname continues to be borne by families who trace their lineage back to the original barony of Carnegie.
Typical given names associated with the Carnegie surname
Male
- Alan
- Alexander
- Andrew
- Brian
- David
- George
- Ian
- James
- John
- Robert
- William
Female
- Elizabeth
- Fiona
- Gillian
- Jennifer
- Lesley
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sandra
- Sarah
- Sharon
- Susan
- Tracey
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Carnegie in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 1,630 people named Carnegie in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,989th most common surname in Britain. Around 25 in a million people in Britain are named Carnegie.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Carnegie
- James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife - Scottish noble (1929 to 2015)
- David Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife - Scottish duke
- Dale Carnegie - American writer and lecturer (1888 to 1955)
- Charles Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk - Scottish Earl (1893 to 1992)
- Thomas M. Carnegie - American businessman (1843 to 1886)
- Charles Carnegie, 10th Earl of Southesk - Scottish earl (1854 to 1941)
- Robert Carnegie, 13th Earl of Northesk - Hereditary peer (1926 to 1994)
- David Carnegie, 14th Earl of Northesk - Noble (1954 to 2010)
- James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk - Scottish nobleman (1827 to 1905)
- William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk - Scottish admiral (1758 to 1831)
- William Hartley Carnegie - (1859 to 1936)
- David Carnegie - RAF officer (1897 to 1964)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.