English
The surname Craik is of Scottish origin. It was a topographical name for someone who lived near a steep a precipitous rock, derived from the Gaelic 'creag'; a word that has been borrowed from the Middle English 'crag( g )'. It was originally a local name from any of the many places in Scotland named with the Gaelic element 'creag', rock; a name given to several parishes and villages in Scotland. The name signifies 'dweller by the steep or precipitous rugged rock (s)', i.e. crag, from residence thereby. It is now widely fashionable as a given name throughout the English-speaking world, and is chosen as a name by people who have no connection with Scotland. It meant originally 'crag' or 'rock' and was taken by those who lived near a trademark rock. The name was common in Endiburgh, Scotland, and throughout the Lowlands in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A Scottish name, it appears in the early records in many parts of that country. The name dates as far back as the twelfth century were a John del Crag is recorded in historical archives. The name was brought to America predominately by Scottish immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a David Craig, who emigrated to America 1774; he settled in North Carolina. This surname is the two-hundredth and fifty-seventh most common surname in America.