Scottish: probably a topographic name for someone who lived in the
lodge at the entrance to a manor house, from Middle English
port ‘gateway’, ‘entrance’ + hous ‘house’, or an
occupational name with similar meaning, from Latin portarius
‘porter’. Alternatively, as suggested by Reaney, it may be from
Anglo-Norman French porte-hors ‘portable prayerbook’ (i.e. a
book of hours), hence a metonymic occupational name for a scribe
employed in writing such books. The surname is also established in
Ireland, the earliest record of its presence there being dated 1563.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
91,339
Historical Documents & Family Trees with Porteous
Click on a place to view Porteous immigration records
The information for this chart came from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry.co.uk.
You can find out where the majority of the Porteous families were living before
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port of arrival, and destination.
Click on a circle in the chart to view Porteous emigration records
You can find out when most of the Porteous families immigrated
to the United States.
You can focus your search to emigration records dating from that era.
Emigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
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