The Crawford Surname

The Crawford surname is of Scottish origin, being traced to the upper Clyde River Valley in Lanarkshire. The surname is followed back to the late 1000's when the Barony of Crawford is noted in records. This surname is recognized as an independent noble house of Scotland. Members of this Clan have played the most important roles in establishing and reuniting Scotland as a nation.

Craw-
Cra-
Crau-
Crow-
Cro-
Cran-
Kra- -f-
-ff- -ord
-urd
-erd
-ird
-ort
-oot
-oord
As a Southern Upland Family, the Crawfords didn't strictly follow the traditions of Highland Clans. There are no septs or affiliated surnames under the Crawford surname. But like all surnames, the spelling has undergone the effects of various cultures. One general rule is that the use of 'u' is Scots and the use of 'w' is Anglo. The variety of spellings includes most of the combinations in the table to the right. The most numerous surname worldwide is the Anglo spelling 'Crawford' with the Scottish spelling 'Craufurd' mostly in Scotland a distant second.
This Noble House of Scotland has been without representation on the Council of Clan Chiefs since the last recognized Clan Chief (Hugh Ronald George, b 1873) died in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1942 after having sold all of his heritable property in 1903, leaving nothing to unite around but historic legacy. Unfortunately this has led to the recent misunderstanding that the Crawford surname is a sept of Clan Lindsay, Clan Boyd, and even a few other Southern clans that traditionally do not have septs, which according to the Lyon Court is inherently inappropriate. Regardless of unsupported claims, the Lyon Court recognizes the Crawford surname as an armigerous clan with an official line of chiefs having for centuries registered Arms showing no differencing (except internal to cadets of the Clan) or allegiance to another clan. Nevertheless, we do appreciate a fellowship of parity from any clan or association.