Many surnames from the border regions of England and Scotland carry a legacy of resilience, conflict, and regional pride. These border families, often called Border Reivers, lived challenging lives shaped by raids, alliances, and shifting loyalties. Their surname today provides insight into family history and is often represented in heraldic designs that reflect their turbulent past.
From the 13th century onward, the families along the Anglo-Scottish border lived under constant pressure from warfare, shifting allegiances, and territorial disputes. Border raids became a common way to assert power, earn wealth, and defend holdings. The term "Reiver" comes from the early English word reive, meaning "to rob or plunder," and the Northumbrian and Scots verb reifen, which derives from the Old English reafian.2
These families often face complex loyalties, sometimes siding with Scotland, other times with England, and occasionally operating independently. Their way of life was codified in law by the Scottish Parliament in 1587, which condemned certain clans for lawlessness, referring to them as "Chiftanis and chieffis of all clannis...duelland in the hielands or bordouris." The statute aimed at "quieting and keping in obiedince of the disorderit subjectis inhabitantis of the borders hielands and Ilis."3
Historical records and George MacDonald Fraser's The Steel Bonnets list prominent families across the three marches:
West March
Middle March:
East March:
These surnames reflect centuries of conflict, strategic marriages, and alliances, forming the foundation for many of the heraldic arms and family crests we recognize today.
In 1603, when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England, the new political unity prompted efforts to control the lawless border families. Some clans were dispersed to England, northern Scotland, Ireland, or even the colonies. Over time, these families integrated into a more settled society, but their surnames and heraldic symbols preserved the history of their Reiver ancestors.
Not originally. Heraldry emerged later, so families with Reiver ancestry often received formal coats of arms in the 14th-17th centuries, symbolizing strength, defense, and their border heritage.
Such symbols honour the Reivers' history as border defenders. Swords, towers, and castles on the shield reflect their role in protecting land and asserting power in the turbulent borderlands.
Many Border Clan surnames have meanings rooted in Old English, Scots, or Norse languages. For example, Armstrong means "strong arm," reflecting strength; Kerr may come from the Old Norse kjarr, meaning "marsh" or "welland"; and Scott originally referred to someone from Scotland. These meanings often hint at the family's traits, occupation, or regional origin.
Merriam-Webster. Reiver. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reiver.
MacDonald Fraser, George. The Steel Bonnets. HarperCollins, 1971.