Ormond (surname)

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Ormond or Ormand is an old surname, originated in Ireland (Ormonde) and Scotland (Ormond), but also occurring in England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Portugal (mainly in Azores, as a variation of the scottish surname Drummond) and Brazil.

The Irish surname derives from the Irish toponym Oirmhumhain 'East Munster' and was a hereditary title within the Irish aristocracy.

However, the Scottish Ormonds originate from the county of Angus, where the Douglas family held the title of earl of Ormond, deriving from their ownership of Ormond Castle in Avoch, on the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands. The Ormond surname is rumoured to have been taken up by an illegitimate son of the earl in the 15th or 16th century. The earliest Ormond in Angus to feature on the parish records is Elspit Ormond, born 1617 in Monikie, the daughter of James Ormond.

There is also an Ormond family in Pembrokeshire, Wales, which is of great antiquity. It is likely that they branched off from the aforementioned Irish Ormonds, rather than having a separate origin. The National Archives hold the will of William Ormond of Pembrokeshire, which was written in 1610.

The name can vary in spelling in old texts (as is typical of the English language generally). However the spelling Ormond is specific to the earldom, while Ormonde with an e is specific to the dukedom.[1]

In Portugal, the surname traces back to Sir John Drummond, son of Sir John Drummond of Carghill and Stobhall, who left Scotland in 1418, set off for France and from there to the kingdom of Granada (Spain) to fight against the moors, and later he set off for the island of Madeira (Portugal).[2][3] Francisco Ferreira Drummond (b. Madeira, 1580, d. Azores, 1615) migrated to the island of Terceira in the Azores archipelago (Portugal), where he established his residence in Ribeira Seca, part of the town of S. Sebastião. From this date onwards, the surname Drummond undergoes various corruptions, such as 'Armond' and 'de Ormonde', eventually consolidating into the form 'Ormond' in Brazil. The oldest record would be of 1691 (Manuel Machado Ormonde).[4] Their descendants also emigrated mainly to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and California (USA).

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  1. ^ Jane Fenlon, 'The decorative plasterwork at Ormond castle: a unique survival', Architectural History, 41 (1998), 67–81, at 80
  2. ^ The Genealogy of the most noble and ancient house of Drummond, Edimburgo, 183l
  3. ^ João Drummond e a sua descendência, «Arquivo l-lístórico da Madeira», vol. 3, n° 2, Funchal, 1933, p. 118
  4. ^ Antonio Ornelas Mendes e Jorge Forjaz, Genealogias da Ilha Terceira, vol. IV. (2007)