With no newspapers covering the beginning of our clan, during the troubles between King Duncan and King Macbeth, for a very long time we were left to guess where our name came from.

In the earliest attempts to decipher the meaning behind the name, most historians looked at the structure behind the two most distinct names that appeared at the beginning of our clan. These were the names Frisken and Warnebald, and because of their structure, most assumed the earliest ancestors of Clan Cunningham were Flemish.

However, this theory does not match the most common translations of the name Cunningham, with many believing Cunnigham was a simple combination of the word “King” and “House”.

Nor did it adequately explain the other then “accepted” theory, which is the name must mean the home of the rabbits, a translation that once appeared plausible, as two hares or rabbits appear prominently as supporters in our coat of arms.

However, the obvious problem is if Frisken and Warnebald were from a powerful Flemish family, why did they not bring their own family name with them to Scotland?

Thankfully, through careful research we have finally peeled back many of the layers that used to cover the trails that our ancestors left; and with Derek Cunningham’s substantial help we finally recovered the long lost notes of the 17^th century historian, Frederic van Bossen, and we now have a much clearer, understanding of how Clan Cunningham actually began.

According to the notes of Frederic van Bossen, Frisken the first, (yes there were more than one Frisken) was born in the 10^th century, and he was actually named Malcolm at birth. Iit was only later, when he was an adult, that he took the name Frisken, or to be more accurate Frischeney. However, over time legends grow and Frischeney ultimately became the name Frisken which to confuse things is the Latin translation for the old Swedish name Freystein. Even today, many historians use modified names for ancient names.

Frederic van Bossen’s notes also claim that this “Firsken” the First was not the ancestor of the Cunninghams. Instead (it is claimed) that Clan Cunningham descends from his brother Kenneth de Cunningham, and his brother the first Lord “Frisken” was the ancestor of the de Middletons and the de Innes (Inges?) families. 

Thus, contrary to centuries of misinformation, Frederic van Bossen did not claim Clan Cunningham began in the mid 12th century, after the death of Macbeth, but instead in the late 10^th century, from two brothers, who directly descend from the Kings of Strathclyde.

But what does the de Cunningham name mean?

After analysing the many different languages in 11^th century Scotland, and taking into account Frederic van Bossen’s claim that Malcolm took the Swedish name Freystein (again Frisken is the Latin for Freystein) it was found that this history did actually produce a very simple translation for the name Cunningham, with the English translation being either King’s Island or King Inge’s Island.

This translation is now supported by the two earliest known versions of the Cunningham name, which appeared in land records between 1130 to 1175. These are Cuningishow (circa 1130) and Cunningesholme Circa 1175 to 1185), where “Hou” is a Norman word and it means “a small island “, and Hølme is an Old-Swedish word and it also means “small island”.

Thus these early entries are consistent and the name Cunningham appears to mean King’s Island, a name that may support van Bossen’s claim that Clan Cunningham descends from the Kings of Strathclyde: the kings who ruled the southwest of Scotland and large parts of Cumbria from a castle that was placed on the small rocky island, called Alt Cloud. A castle that can still be seen today, on the shore of the River Clyde.

The earliest surviving records also now confirm our ancestors moved to Normandy and England during the chaos that followed Macbeth usurping the crown. and data published in Clan Communique No. 95 now shows the more famous Malcolm who apparently was the son of Frisken II had a son called Norman. However, as yet, little is known about his history.

It also appears, from an analysis of the surviving charters from the late 11th century to mid 12th century that William de Percy (who was the ancestor of the Petro de Guningham found in Sempringham Priory records around the year 1170 and the Gilbert de Cunningesholme who appeared in 1185) was also a son of Frisken II, and thus a brother of Malcolm.

It was after the end of the primary line of the de Percys, which occurred in the 1170s that land from the de Percys was transferred to various secondary families (such as the de Morevilles) through marriage, and it was because of these land transfers that many later historians incorrectly assumed the ancestors of Clan Cunningham were the vassals of the de Moreville family. That myths has finally be laid to rest.

So, now we come to the story surrounding our clan’s coat of arms. No, it is not a shake fork, or at least, originally, it was not a shake fork.

The original coat of arms employed by Clan Cunningham was the undivided Bishop Pall Y (which differs from the Shakefork Y in whether the Y touches the edge of the shield).

Today some examples of the original Bishop Pall Y still exist at some early historical sites. For example, it can be found on a pane glass window in Stirling Castle, and in the walls and the furniture of various old church buildings that are anciently linked to Clan Cunningham, but because the use of the undivided Bishop Pall Y, which also appears as the coat of arms of the Archdeaconry for Canterbury Cathedral, can only be used by one family or one authority, a decision was forced upon our ancestors to change both our clan’s coat of arms and our clan’s foundation legend from the Bishop Pall Y to the Shakefork Y.

And thus the events surrounding the death of Pope-elect Robert de Cunningham de Somercotes were replaced by the modern story that we hear today, which is Prince Malcolm was rescued from the hands of the evil Macbeth by the bravery of Malcolm the son of Frisken. 

Today research into our past is still ongoing, and we also would like to publish stories and new historical papers by our readers. So, if you have an interesting story, please feel free to contact us. We will be setting up an author’s portal in the near future.