Monroe

Boy name variations

Family name origins & meanings

• Scottish : according to tradition, this is a rare example of a Gaelic surname of topographic origin, the first element of which is probably Gaelic mun, a mutated form of bun ‘foot’, or British minit ‘hill’. In Ireland this name has sometimes been used as an equivalent of O’Mellan (see Mellon) and Milroy 2.
• Scottish bearers of this name are descended from Donald O’Kane, who in the 11th century migrated from the mouth of the Roe to Ferrindonald in Cromarty, Scotland. There his descendants, as barons of Foulis and vassals of the earls of Ross, held lands along the Firth of Cromarty. James Monroe (1758–1831), 5th president of the U.S. (1817–25), came from a cadet branch of this family.

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