Lockart History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Lockart

What does the name Lockart mean?

Lockart is an ancient Dalriadan-Scottish nickname for a person who was brave. Lockart is a nickname surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress. The surname Lockart comes from the words loc and hardy, which mean lock and brave or hardy.

Lockart Coat of Arms Creation

When the good Sir James Douglas fell in Spain, it was a Sir Simon Lochard who picked up the heart of Bruce in the locked silver casket and carried it back to Scotland. His name was changed to Lockhart to show that he was entrusted with the key, and though the crest most common to the Lockharts is a boar's head, yet in their arms they carry a human heart in a fetterlock.

The motto, quite appropriately, is " Corda serrata pando " (I lay open a heart shut up). 1

Early Origins of the Lockart family

The surname Lockart was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow, where this distinguished family acquired the estates of Carnwath, Cleghorn, Birkhill, Kirktoun, and Leigh.

The Lockharts of Leigh 2 trace their descent from Sir Simon Locard whose name some claim was derived from the territorial name "de Loch Ard." The family estate was centered at Lee Castle, originally built c. 1272 and was expanded in the 19th century.

Sir Simon Locard accompanied Sir James Douglas on his expedition with the heart of Robert the Bruce, which after Douglas' death brought home from Spain and buried in Melrose Abbey. This incident was the reason of the Arms' "man's heart within a fetterlock."

The Flockhart variant occurs "as Fluckart in Edinburgh, 1679" and "Robert Flockhart, 'Daddy Flockhart' (1777-1857), [was] a street preacher in Edinburgh." 3

Early History of the Lockart family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lockart research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1621, 1630, 1646, 1652, 1658, 1674, 1675, 1685, 1686, 1689 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Lockart History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lockart Spelling Variations

Medieval translation of Gaelic names could not be referred to as an accurate process. Spelling was not yet standardized, and names in documents from that era are riddled with spelling variations. Lockart has been written as Lockhart, Lockhard, Locard, Lockard, Lockheart and many more.

Early Notables of the Lockart family

Notable amongst the family at this time was George Lockhart of Tarbrax (died 1658), Commissioner of Glasgow in the Parliament of Scotland (1646-1658); Sir James Lockhart of Lee (d. 1674), lord of the Court of Session, he held the judicial title Lord Lee; Sir William Lockhart of Lee (1621-1675)...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lockart Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Lockart family to Ireland

Some of the Lockart family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Lockart family

Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Lockart or a variant listed above: Robert Lockhard settled in Virginia in 1777; Gaven Lockhart settled in east New Jersey in 1685; Robert Lockhart settled in New York in 1820; Hugh, Isaac, Janet, John, Nicholas, Robert Lockhart, all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860..

The Lockart Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Corda serrata pando
Motto Translation: I lay open locked hearts.

Sources +

Polson, Alexander, The Romance of Scottish Crests and Mottoes. Inverness: Walter Alexander, Inglis Street 1929. Print
Lee, Sir Stanley, Dictionary of National Biography. London: The MacMillan Company 1909. Print
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)