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Erskine is a Scottish surname. The name is derived from a habitational name from a location (Erskine) on the southern bank of the River Clyde, near Glasgow. This place was first recorded in 1225 as Erskin. Early spellings of the place include: Yrskin (1227); Ireskin (1262); Harskin (1300), and Irschen (1300).[1] The Scottish Gaelic form of the surname is Arascain.[2] Legend dictates that the name was given by King Malcolm II to a man who killed the Danish General Enrique at the Battle of Murthill. He is said to have shown the bloody knife to king and said eris-skyne (air a' scèin), meaning "upon the knife". The King, in honour of his valour, granted him the surname Eriskine.[3]
List of people with the surname
- Albert Russel Erskine (1871–1933), an American businessman who served as president of the Studebaker Corporation from 1915 to 1933
- Carl Erskine (1926–2024), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 to 1959
- Chris Erskine (born 1987), Scottish footballer
- David Erskine, (1776–1855), British diplomat and politician
- Ebenezer Erskine (1680–1754), Scottish minister whose actions led to the establishment of the Secession Church
- Emmanuel Erskine (1937–2021), Ghanaian army general and former commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
- George Erskine (1899–1965), British general who commanded the 7th Armoured Division during World War II,
- Gizzi Erskine (born 1979), British chef and TV personality
- Graves B. Erskine (1897–1973), U.S. Marine Corps general who led the 3rd Marine Division during the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima
- Henry Erskine (lawyer) (1746–1817), Scottish Whig politician and lawyer
- Jacob Erskine (born 1989), English footballer
- James Robert Erskine-Murray (1868–1927), Scottish electrical inventor
- Jared Samuel Erskine (born 1986), American singer and songwriter known professionally as October London
- Joe Erskine (American boxer) (1930–2009), former welterweight boxer and long-distance runner
- Joe Erskine (Welsh boxer) (1934–1990), former British and British Empire heavyweight boxing champion
- John Erskine (disambiguation), several people
- Kenneth Erskine (born 1963), British serial killer known as the "Stockwell Strangler" who murdered seven elderly people in and around London during a three-month period in 1986
- Laurie York Erskine (1894–1976), American author and educator
- Margaret Erskine (disambiguation), several people
- Maya Erskine (born 1987), American actress and writer
- Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (born 1984), Canadian politician
- Peter Erskine (born 1954), American jazz drummer and composer
- Ralph Erskine (preacher) (1685–1752), Scottish churchman
- Ralph Erskine (architect) (1914–2005), London-born architect who lived and worked in Sweden for most of his life
- Robert Erskine (1735–1780), map-maker to George Washington during the American Revolutionary War
- Robert Erskine (physician) (1677–1718)
- Roy Erskine (born 1931), Scottish footballer
- Ruaraidh Erskine (1869–1960), Scottish nationalist activist
- Scott Erskine (1962–2020), American serial killer sentenced to death for the murder of two California boys in 1993
- Thomas Erskine (theologian) (1788–1870)
- Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine (1750–1823), British lawyer and politician
- William Erskine (disambiguation), several people
See also
References
- ^ Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 25 September 2010 which cited Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508137-4. for the surname "Erskine".
- ^ Macfarlane, Malcolm (1912), The School Gaelic Dictionary prepared for the use of learners of the Gaelic language, Stirling: Eneas Mackay, p. 149
- ^ Arthur, William (1857). An etymological dictionary of family and Christian names. Sheldon, Blakeman & Co. p. 125.
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