Coordinates: 55°53′45″N 3°18′27″W / 55.895956°N 3.307439°W / 55.895956; -3.307439

Currie (Scottish Gaelic: Currach) is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated 7 miles south west of the city centre. A former village within the County of Midlothian, it lies to the south west of the city, between Juniper Green (NE) and Balerno (SW) on the Lanark Road. Administratively, Currie falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. It gives its name to a civil parish.

In 2001 the population of Currie was 8,550 and it contained 3,454 houses.

Etymology

There is no accepted derivation of the name Currie but it is possibly from the Scottish Gaelic word curagh/curragh, a wet or boggy plain, or from the Brythonic word curi, a dell or hollow. The neighbouring suburb of Balerno derives its name from Scottish Gaelic, whilst the nearby Pentland Hills derive their name from Brythonic, so either is possible.

History

The earliest record of a settlement in the Currie area is a Bronze Age razor (1800 BC) found at Kinleith Mill and the stone cists (500 BC) at Duncan's Belt and Blinkbonny. There are a few mentions of this area in mediaeval and early modern documents. One of the first is when Robert of Kildeleith became Chancellor of Scotland in 1249. Kildeleith means Chapel by the Leith, and survives today as Kinleith. Robert the Bruce gave Riccarton as a wedding present in 1315 and in 1392 the land passed to the family of Bishop Wardlaw. In 1612 the land went to Ludovic Craig, a Senator of the College of Justice. In 1818 it passed to the female line and became the property of the Gibson-Craigs.

Currie is a surname in the English language. The name has numerous origins.

Etymology

In some cases it originated as an habitational name, derived from Currie in Midlothian, Scotland. In other cases it originated as a habitational name, derived from Corrie, in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. A third origin for the surname is that it originated as a Scottish spelling of the Irish surname Curry, a surname which has several origins. A fourth origin of the surname, particularly on Arran, is as an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic MacMhuirich. The Hebridean MacMhuirich evolved in such a way that the forms McVurich and McCurrie first appeared in the 17th century, and by the 18th century Currie is found on Islay, and on Uist by the 19th century. Another origin of the surname is from Curry, in Somerset, England. In some cases the name may also be derived from the Old French curie, which means "kitchen".

Early forms of the surname include: æt Curi, in about 1075; and de Cury, in 1212. Both forms are derived from the place name in Somerset. Other early forms include: atte Curie, in SRS 1327; and atte Corye. Early forms of the surname, derived from a Scottish place name, is de Curry, in 1179; and de Curri, in 1210. An early form of the surname, when derived from MacMhuirich is M'Currie and Currie, in the early 18th century.

Currie is a suburb of Edinburgh.

Currie may also refer to:

Surname

Places

Rugby

See also