Craig

An Irish surname of Antrim. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 92,507 people, the 332nd most common surname in the country.

Craig is the anglicised form of three distinct Irish names. Some you can hear in the English name; others look and sound nothing like it, and were simply swapped for it.

Creag

de Carraig

de Craig, De Creag

Where the name comes from

de Carraig is of Carrick, a common place-name in Ireland and Scotland meaning the rock, and it was not uncommon here in the 13th century. It was written de Carricke and de Carrig, and comes down as Carrick and Craig, and sometimes as Rock, straight translation. de Creag is the same name in a different accent, and the craig in question must have been in Scotland or in Wales.

The Giant's Causeway at twilight with wet hexagonal basalt columns stretching to the sea and long exposure blurred waves
The Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim

Antrim, photographed

Photographs made in Antrim.

Antrim

The Antrim coast road runs about 25 miles between the cliffs and the sea, with nine glens coming down to it. The rock is basalt, the same flow that formed the Giant's Causeway. Scotland is 12 miles off at the narrowest point and visible on a clear day.

The iconic Dark Hedges beech tree tunnel near Armoy in County Antrim with intertwined branches forming a brooding canopyThe Dark Hedges, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Long exposure of Pan's Rock with its footbridge at dawn on the Antrim Causeway Coast, silky water and blurred clouds, Rathlin Island on the horizonPan's Rock, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunrise over Colliery Bay with Fair Head cliffs and mountains, Co. Antrim, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxColliery Bay & Fair Head, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Dunluce Castle on coastal cliffs with long exposure sea, Co. Antrim, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDunluce Castle, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Black and white photograph of a rainstorm sweeping across the Skerries islands off the North Antrim coast near PortrushRainstorm, the Skerries, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunset over Bengore Head with waves rolling over rocks, Co. Antrim, Ireland — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxBengore Head, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunset over the Skerries coast in County Antrim with warm light reflecting on wet sand and rock formationsThe Skerries, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim

All Antrim prints

Notable bearers

Daniel Craig (born 1968), actor and model.

William Lane Craig (born 1949), writer, university teacher, and philosopher.

Ralph Craig (1889-1972), athletics competitor, sprinter, and athlete.

Larry Craig (born 1945), politician, farmer, and rancher.

Yvonne Craig (1937-2015), actor and dancer.

About this page

The counties on this page are where the name was thickest on the ground in Ireland a century and a half ago, not a claim about any one family. Names moved around inside the country as much as they left it. The photographs are mine, made in the counties named.

More Irish surnames: Smith · Brown · Miller · Wilson · Anderson · Thomas · Taylor · Moore · Jackson · Martin · Lee · Thompson

How common the name was

In 1890, 120 births were registered under Craig in Ireland, most of them in Antrim, Londonderry, and Tyrone.

Ulster 111
Leinster 7
Connacht 1
Munster 1
Ireland 120

Londonderry and Tyrone are the ones I haven't worked in.