The following information was provided by Atholl Craigmyle, formerly from Aberdeen County, Scotland:

I was fascinated by your Craigmyle site. Having just recently got on line, I have been searching for Craigmyle references, and was pleasantly surprised to find so many American Craigmyles.

You may be interested in the family name history I obtained from the Historical Research Centre:

The Scottish surname Craigmyle or Craigmile is of local origin, being one of those surnames based on the dwelling place or locality where a bearer once lived. In this instance, the name can be traced back to the lands of Craigmyle in the parish of Kincardine O'Neil in the county of Aberdeen. During the middle ages it was common practice to identify a man with the area from which he hailed and to refer to him in this manner. Thus, a resident of Craigmyle became known by this name. It was becoming necessary to have a family name to register one's name in official documents as the growth and decline of populations were being charted. People therefore entered the name of their native town; there was also a certain civic pride involved in registering one's home town as one's family name.

Early recorded instances of the name occur in the National Rolls of Scotland; one Margaret de Craigmile was granted a tract of land in Aberdeenshire in 1567 and one Thomas Craigmile was admitted as Burgess of Aberdeen in 1605. Anna Craigmyle, daughter of James Craigmyle, was christened on February 11th, 1681 in Monymusk, Aberdeenshire. In the eighteenth century the christening of Elizabeth Craigmyle was celebrated on May 2nd 1731 in Premnay. The marriage of Robert Craigmyle and Jane Milne took place on March 25th 1838 in Old Machar Aberdeen.

There are currently 21 Craigmyles and 7 Craigmiles listed in the Aberdeen and surrounding area telephone directory. Having checked directories in other parts of the UK, there are very few elsewhere. The current Lord Craigmyle is listed in the central London directory. We have recently moved from Aberdeen to St Albans, Hertfordshire which is just north of London, and there is one other Craigmyle in our local directory.

The mention of James above is interesting and could clearly lead to the link that took the Craigmyle name to America. The name Robert interests me as it also a traditional family name, and the name of my great grandfather. There are currently a number of Robert Craigmyles in America, which makes me wonder whether this a link to your Craigmyles of unknown origin!

I hope that the above is of use to you. I have certainly found your site most interesting.

Regards,

Atholl Craigmyle
ARDCraigmy@aol.com

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