Ulster Scots

Stewart

—

Also: Stuart

“steward of the royal household”

🏔 Antrim · Aontroim 🏔 Derry / Londonderry · Doire 🏔 Tyrone · Tír Eoghain

The sept's historic heartland, highlighted. People moved — a name can be found far from home.

The story

An office that became a name: the steward of the royal household of Scotland, a post held from the 12th century by the family who eventually took the throne themselves and gave it the spelling Stuart in their French years. The name came to Ulster in numbers with the plantation of the 1600s, carried by farmers and weavers rather than kings, and it is now among the commonest surnames in the north. It has no Irish-language form, because it never had one — which is a fact about the name, and says nothing about how long a family carrying it has been in Ireland.

Their world Around 1610 — The Plantation of Ulster. In September 1607 the earls O'Neill and O'Donnell board a ship at Rathmullan.

See them on the atlas ↗

Is Stewart an Irish name?

Stewart arrived from Scotland, England or Wales, most often during the plantations of the 1600s. Families carrying it may have been in Ireland for four centuries since, which is a different question from where the name began.

The five answers, and why it is rarely yes or no →

From Wikipedia — “Stewart (name)”

Stewart is a Scottish and English surname, also used as a given name. It is possibly derived from the old English word "stigweard", a compound of "stig" meaning household, and "weard", a guardian (ward), or from the Gaelic Stiùbhart meaning steward. Alternative spellings are Stuart, Steward and Steuart. The surname Stewart has large concentrations in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere that has large Scottish or Ulster Scots diaspora.

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Campbell · Antrim, Tyrone Craig · Antrim, Derry / Londonderry Devlin · Tyrone, Derry / Londonderry Morrison · Antrim, Derry / Londonderry Mulholland · Derry / Londonderry, Antrim O'Neill · Tyrone, Antrim Wilson · Antrim, Tyrone Adams · Antrim Beattie · Antrim Bell · Antrim Conlan · Tyrone Cooney · Tyrone Doherty · Derry / Londonderry Donnelly · Tyrone

Quick answers

Is Stewart an Irish name?

What does the surname Stewart mean?

Stewart (Irish: —) means “steward of the royal household”. Origin: Ulster Scots.

Where in Ireland is the surname Stewart from?

The historic homeland of the Stewart name is Antrim, Derry / Londonderry, Tyrone. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Stewart?

—. Related spellings: Stuart.

Looking for the Stewart family crest? Read this first — arms belong to people, not surnames, and the honest version is more interesting. Tracing Stewart ancestors? The step-by-step guide.

Not your spelling? Try the full A–Z. Know more about the Stewart name? Add to the story.