Armstrong (surname)
| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Son of a strong man |
| Region of origin | North East England, Scotland,Ireland |
Armstrong is a surname of Scottish borders origin. It derives from a Middle English nickname which meant someone with strong arms. In Ireland the name was adopted as an Anglicization of two Gaelic names from Ulster: Mac Thréinfhir (meaning "son of the strong man") and Ó Labhraidh Tréan (meaning "strong O'Lavery").[1] Clan Armstrong is a clan from the border area between England and Scotland.[2] The Scottish Armstrong is reputed to have been originally bestowed by "an antient (sic) king of Scotland" upon "Fairbairn, his armour-bearer" following an act of strength in battle.[3] In the UK this surname is well represented in North East England, Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Scottish Borders, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway, and Northern Ireland, and in the US it is well represented in the Deep south, and other southern states.
From the name Ó Labhraidh Tréan (meaning "strong O'Lavery" and sometimes written in AngloIrish as "Tréanlámagh") the following surnames survive: "Trainor", Traynor", O'Lavery", "McLavery", and "MacLavery". Although the name "Armstrong" is quite common in the Aghagallon and Glenavy area of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, the other names are to be found within the 9 Ulster Counties and Scotland, especially along the west coast.
Real people
Disambiguation of common names with this surname
- Brad Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Charles Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Chris Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Craig Armstrong (disambiguation) several people:
- David Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Edward Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Gary Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- George Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Harry Armstrong (disambiguation) or Henry Armstrong, several people
- Ian Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- James Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Joe Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- John Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Joseph Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Martin Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Michael Armstrong (disambiguation) or Mike Armstrong, several people
- Oliver Armstrong (disambiguation) One person
- Richard Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Robert Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Samuel Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- Thomas Armstrong (disambiguation), several people
- Tim Armstrong (disambiguation) several people
- William Armstrong (disambiguation) several people:
Arts and letters
- Alun Armstrong (actor), English actor
- Anton Armstrong, American choral conductor and professor
- Benita Armstrong, British sculptor
- Beth Diane Armstrong, South African sculptor
- Billie Joe Armstrong, American vocalist of Green Day
- Campbell Armstrong, a Scottish writer
- Curtis Armstrong, American actor
- Eve Armstrong, New Zealand artist
- Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong, better known as Dido, British pop singer
- Frankie Armstrong, English vocalist
- Franny Armstrong - film director
- Gillian Armstrong, Australian film director
- Heather Armstrong, aka Dooce, American writer
- Helen Maitland Armstrong, American stained glass artist
- Jeannette Armstrong, Canadian writer
- Jerome Armstrong, American journalist
- Karen Armstrong, English author
- Kelley Armstrong, Canadian author
- Kerry Armstrong, Australian actor
- Louis Armstrong (1901–1971), American jazz musician
- Maitland Armstrong (1836–1918), American artist and diplomat
- Margaret Neilson Armstrong, book designer, illustrator, and writer
- Mick Armstrong, Australian socialist and author
- Paige Armstrong, American Christian singer-songwriter
- Peter Armstrong, English poet
- Randy Armstrong, Musical Artist
- Ruth Alice Armstrong (1850–?), American social activist, writer, lecturer
- Samaire Armstrong, American actor
- The Armstrong Twins, bluegrass and country music act in the 1940s and '50s
- Vaughn Armstrong, American actor
Politics and government
- Cornelius W. Armstrong (1827–after 1872), New York politician
- Ernest Armstrong (1915–1996), a British Labour Party politician.
- Hilary Armstrong, British politician
- John Franklin Armstrong - Texas state representative
- Kelly Armstrong, American politician from North Dakota
- Ward Armstrong, American politician from Virginia
Religion
- Annie Armstrong (1850–1938) American missionary leader
- Garner Ted Armstrong (1930–2003), American evangelist, son of Herbert W. Armstrong
- Herbert W. Armstrong (1892–1986), American evangelist, father of Garner Ted Armstrong
Science and technology
- Edwin Armstrong, full name Edwin Howard Armstrong, (1890–1954), American electrical engineer and inventor of FM radio
- Lilias Armstrong (1882–1937), English phonetician
- Mark Armstrong (astronomer), British amateur astronomer
- Neil Armstrong (1930–2012), American astronaut, first man on Moon
- William Ward Armstrong, Canadian computer scientist
Sports
- The Armstrong wrestling family (real last name James), an American family including:
- Bob Armstrong (born Joseph Melton James, 1939), and his sons:
- Scott Armstrong (born Joseph Scott James, 1959)
- Brad Armstrong (wrestler) (born Bradley James, 1961–2012)
- Steve Armstrong (born Steve James, 1965)
- Brian Armstrong, best known as Road Dogg (born Brian Girard James, 1969)
- Bob Armstrong (born Joseph Melton James, 1939), and his sons:
- Alun Armstrong (footballer), English player
- B. J. Armstrong, former basketball player, most notably with the Chicago Bulls
- Brian Armstrong (footballer), New Zealand international football (soccer) player
- Bruce Armstrong, American football player
- Colby Armstrong, Canadian hockey player
- Cornell Armstrong, American football player
- Dale Armstrong (1941–2014), Canadian drag racer
- Darrell Armstrong, American professional basketball player
- Davey Armstrong, American boxer
- Debbie Armstrong, Olympic gold medalist in Alpine skiing
- Dorance Armstrong Jr., American football player
- Duncan Armstrong, Australian Olympic gold medalist in swimming
- Elizabeth Armstrong, an American water polo goalkeeper
- Evan Armstrong, Scottish boxer of the 1960s and '70s
- Gary Armstrong (rugby), Scottish rugby player
- Gary Armstrong (footballer)
- Genevieve Armstrong (born 1988), New Zealand rower
- Graham Armstrong (1918–1960), American football player
- Hilton Armstrong, American basketball player
- Ken Armstrong (footballer born 1924), an England and New Zealand dual-international footballer
- Ken Armstrong (footballer born 1959), an English-born footballer
- Kevin Armstrong, Irish football player
- Kristin Armstrong, professional road bicycle racer and Olympic gold medalist
- Lance Armstrong, American cyclist
- Mark Armstrong (equestrian), British international representative show-jumper
- Mark Armstrong (footballer), New Zealand international football (soccer) player
- Neil Armstrong (ice hockey)
- Neill Armstrong, American football player
- Norman Armstrong (1892–1990), English cricketer
- Otis Armstrong, American football player
- Paul Armstrong, Irish international football (soccer) player
- Paul Armstrong (footballer) (born 1965), Scottish footballer
- Ron Armstrong, a New Zealand international footballer
- Tommy Armstrong Jr., American football player
- Trace Armstrong, American football player
- Warwick Armstrong, Australian Test cricketer
Other
- Archibald Armstrong, (d. March, 1672) court jester to James I and Charles I
- Dwight Armstrong, American domestic terrorist
- Elizabeth Armstrong (settler), an American settler who took part in the Black Hawk War
- Eugene Armstrong, American construction contractor who was beheaded in Iraq
- Frank A. Armstrong, United States Air Force General
- Herbert Rowse Armstrong (1870–1922), British murderer - the "Hay poisoner",
- J. Scott Armstrong, Wharton Business School professor
- Rebekka Armstrong, bodybuilder, former Playboy model and AIDS activist
- Ruth Alice Armstrong (1850–?), American activist
- Sally Ward Lawrence Hunt Armstrong Downs, also known as Sallie Ward, (1827-1896), American socialite.
Fictional people
- The Armstrong family, victims of a crime in Murder on the Orient Express
- Alex Louis Armstrong, the state alchemist from Fullmetal Alchemist
- Olivier Mira Armstrong, the Briggs general from Fullmetal Alchemist
- Catherine Elle Armstrong, the youngest daughter of Armstrong Family from Fullmetal Alchemist
- Coach Armstrong, character in Degrassi: The Next Generation.
- Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, radio series character on the show of the same name (1933–1951)
- Seth Armstrong - a local character in a local soap opera just trying to make it to Cockermouth.
- Steven Armstrong, final boss in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
- Stretch Armstrong, action figure first introduced in the 1970s
- Sue Ellen Armstrong - a character from the fictional show Arthur
- Tina Armstrong and her father, Bass, people from the Dead or Alive video game series
References
- ^ "Dictionary of American Family Names". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
- ^ Dobson, David (2003), The Scottish Surnames of Colonial America (Google Book), Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, pp. 4–5, ISBN 0-8063-5209-4, OCLC 52732092, retrieved 1 Jan 2012
Additional OCLC records exist for same book. - ^ Lower, Mark Antony (1844), "Historical Surnames", Essays on family nomenclature, historical, etymological and humorous: with chapters of rebuses and canting arms, the roll of Battel abbey, a list of latinized surnames, &c., &c. (Google Book), Essays on English Surnames (2nd ed.), London: John Russell Smith, p. 212, OCLC 674415725, retrieved 1 Jan 2012
This page lists people with the surname Armstrong.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.