Show ContentsLisk History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Lisk

What does the name Lisk mean?

The Lisk surname is thought to have derived from the name of the lands of Leask, in the parish of Slaines, Aberdeenshire.

Early Origins of the Lisk family

The surname Lisk was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, where they held a family seat. Their first records were at Pitlurg in the parish of Slains about the year 1380 but it is thought they held a family seat at that location from very early times.

Early History of the Lisk family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lisk research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1390, 1438, 1461 and 1705 are included under the topic Early Lisk History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lisk Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Lisk, Liske and others.

Early Notables of the Lisk family

More information is included under the topic Early Lisk Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lisk Ranking

In the United States, the name Lisk is the 13,231st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


Lisk migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Lisk Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • E Lisk, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2

Lisk migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Lisk Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Andrew Lisk, aged 50 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Dominica" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in June 1847 3

Lisk migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Lisk Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mrs. Frances Lisk, (b. 1800), aged 31, English cook who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 31st December 1831, arriving in New South Wales, listed as having her daughter aboard the ship 4

Lisk migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Lisk Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr Lisk, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1844

Contemporary Notables of the name Lisk (post 1700) +

  • Thomas Lisk, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Connecticut 1st District, 1908 5
  • Jacob Lisk, American politician, Member of Nebraska State House of Representatives, 1879 5
  • Ricarda Lisk (b. 1981), German professional triathlete, National Elite Champion of the year 2010


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 40)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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