Hercus is a

Scottish surname Scottish surnames are surnames currently found in Scotland, or surnames that have a historical connection with the country. History The earliest surnames found in Scotland occur during the reign of David I, King of Scots (1124–53). These were ...

. The name derives from “harecarres”, a Border name for a boundary marker made of rock. Although this medieval place name has been found in three other sites in south-east Scotland, the six modern variations of the surname – Hercus, Herkes, Harcus, Harkes, Harkess and Arcus come from the fourth medieval site today called Harcarse, in the parish of Fogo,

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

, Scotland. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam de Harcarres, who in 1216, was elected

Abbot of Newbattle The Abbot of Newbattle (later Commendator of Newbattle) was the head of the Cistercian monastic community of Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian. It was founded by David I of Scotland in 1140. List of abbots * Radulf, 1140-1147x1150 * Amfrid, 1159-1179 ...

and subsequently

Abbot of Melrose The Abbot and then Commendator of Melrose was the head of the monastic community of Melrose Abbey, in Melrose in the Borders region of Scotland. The abbots of the earlier Northumbrian foundation from Lindisfarne are not included here. The seco ...

. Alexander of Harcarse, knight, performed fealty to

Edward I, king of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

in 1297 and the arms of Harcarse of that Ilk f Harcarse are cited in the Scottish Arms 1370–1678. The name Hercas first appears in the

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

in the 1500s. Harcus is "the present Orkney spelling of Harcarse" according to George F. Black in "The Surnames of Scotland". The names of Robert, Johnne, and George Hercas are named in the Respite of 1539 for complicity in connection with the Battle of Summerdale, 1529. The naming of three Hercas out of a total of thirty one, is indicative of the relative importance of the family at that time in Orkney. On the 5th August 2011, a gathering of Hercus/Harcus and related surnames was held at The Lodge, Carfraemill, Lauder, Berwickshire, TD2 6RA, Scotland with attendees from Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, and the USA. At this gathering, the Flower of Scotland tartan was adopted as the Hercus tartan as no tartan was previously associated with this family name.

Notable people with the surname include

Mike Hercus Mike Hercus (born June 5, 1979) is a retired rugby union player who played at fly-half for the United States national team and several top level professional clubs around the globe. Hercus is the USA Eagles' all-time leading scorer with 465 poi ...

, American rugby union player *Fred Hercus, Australian founder of Southern Australian machine-tool maker of Hercus branded lathes *

Philip Hercus Philip Christian Hercus AO BSc (20 December 1942 in New Zealand – 3 September 2017) was a naval architect and marine vessel designer in Sydney Australia. He left New Zealand to attend the faculty of engineering at the University of New South ...

, Australian navel architect and marine vessel designer *

Luise Hercus Luise Anna Hercus , , (16 January 1926 – 15 April 2018) was a German-born linguist who lived in Australia from 1954. After significant early work on Middle Indo-Aryan dialects (Prakrits) she had specialised in Australian Aboriginal languages si ...

, Linguist expert on Australian languages * Ann Hercus, New Zealand politician * Charles Hercus, New Zealand doctor and professor of public health * Richard Harcus, Scottish Musician and Football expert working as a consultant in Asia

References

{{surname Anglicised Scottish Gaelic-language surnames Scottish surnames Patronymic surnames

Notable people with the surname include

See also

References