Archibald (name)

Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements erchan (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious"^[1]) and bald "bold".

Medieval forms include Old High German Erchambald, Erkanbold, Erkanbald and Anglo-Saxon Eorcenbald. Erkanbald, bishop of Strasbourg (d. 991) was also rendered Archaunbault in Old French. The Anglo-Saxon name did not survive, and the modern given name in English derives from the introduction of the Old French name, with a secondary association of its first element with the Greek prefix archi- meaning "chief, master", to Norman England in the high medieval period.

The form Archibald became particularly popular among Scottish nobility in the later medieval to early modern periods, whence usage as a surname is derived by the 18th century, found especially in Nova Scotia and in Scotland.

Given name

English diminutives or hypocorisms include Archibald, Arch, Archy, Archie, Baldie. Variants include French Archambault, Archaimbaud, Archenbaud, Archimbaud, Italian Archimboldo, Arcimbaldo, Arcimboldo, Portuguese Arquibaldo, Arquimbaldo and Spanish Archibaldo. Archibald is used as the anglicization of the (unrelated) Gaelic given name Gille Easbuig (also anglicized as Gillespie).

The given name Archibald was comparatively popular in the United States in the late 19th century, peaking at rank 290 in 1890, but it rapidly fell out of fashion in the early 20th century, falling below rank 1,000 in popularity during the 1920s.^[2]

People with given name Archibald

See also: All pages beginning with "Archibald"

Medieval

• Eorcenbald, an 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bishop under Ine of Wessex^[3]
• Erkanbald, bishop of Strasbourg (d. 991)
• Erkanbald, abbot of Fulda (d. 1021)
• Archibald I, Lord of Douglas (ca. 1198–1238)
• Archibald (d. 1298) Scottish Bishop of Moray
• Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway and 3rd Earl of Douglas,(1325–1400)
• Sir Archibald Douglas (died 1333), Guardian of Scotland. (killed 1333, at the Battle of Halidon Hill)
• Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas (1370–1424), duke of Touraine
• Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas (1390–1439)
• Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray (1426–1455)
• Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus (1453–1514) "Bell-the-Cat"

Early modern

In the late medieval and early modern period, the given name Archibald became popular among Scottish aristocracy in particular. See Archibald Campbell (disambiguation), Archibald Douglas (disambiguation), Archibald Hamilton (disambiguation), Archibald Montgomerie (disambiguation), Archibald Napier (disambiguation), Archibald Primrose (disambiguation) for lists of individuals with these names.

• Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie (1475–1536)
• Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (1490–1557)
• Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll (died 1513), Lord Chancellor of Scotland
• Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll (c. 1507–1558), Scottish nobleman and politician
• Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll (1532/7–1573), Scottish politician
• Sir Archibald Napier (1534–1608), Scottish landowner and official, master of the Scottish mint and Laird of Merchiston
• Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus (1556–1588) (also 5th Earl of Morton)
• Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll (c. 1575–1638), Scottish politician and military leader
• Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll (1607–1661)
• Archibald Douglas, 1st Earl of Ormond (1609–1655)
• Archibald Primrose, Lord Carrington (1616–1679), Scottish lawyer, judge, and cavalier
• Lord Archibald Hamilton (1673–1754), Scottish politician
• Archibald Cameron of Locheil (1707–1753), leader in the Jacobite uprising
• Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton (1726–1796), Scottish general, and Member of Parliament (MP)
• Archibald Douglas-Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton (1740–1819), Scottish peer and politician
• Archibald McBryde (1766–1816), Scottish born US Congressman
• Lord Archibald Hamilton (1769–1827), son of the above, MP for Lanarkshire.
• Archibald Murphey (1777–1832), North Carolina politician

Modern

• Archibald Hamilton (1790–1815), officer in the United States Navy
• Archibald McLean (judge) (1791–1865), Upper Canadian judge
• John Archibald Campbell (1811–1889), American lawyer
• Archibald McLelan (1824–1890), colonial Nova Scotian shipbuilder and politician
• Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847–1929) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during 1894/5.
• Archibald Grimké (1849–1930), American intellectual, journalist, and diplomat
• Archibald Gracie IV (1859–1912), American writer
• Archibald Keightley (1859–1930), theosophist
• Archibald Lampman (1861–1899), Canadian poet
• Archibald Ritchie (British Army officer) (1869–1955), British Army Major-General of World War I
• Archibald Boyd-Carpenter (1873–1937), British politician
• Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell (1883–1950), commander in the British Army
• Archibald Hill (1886–1977), British physiologist
• Archibald MacLeish (1892–1982), American modernist writer
• Archibald Roosevelt (1894–1979), American soldier
• Archibald F. Bennett (1896–1965) LDS genealogist
• Archibald Joseph Cronin (1896–1981), Scottish author
• Archibald Alexander Leach (1904–1986, stage name Cary Grant), American actor
• John Archibald Wheeler (1911–2008), American theoretical physicist
• Archibald Cox (1912–2004), U.S. Solicitor General
• Archibald Hall (1924–2002), Scottish serial killer
• Archibald Gemmill (b. 1947) Scottish Football Player (Hero of Mendoza, Argentina 1978)
• Archie Manning (b. 1949), former National Football League player and father of Peyton Manning and Eli Manning
• Archie Thompson, (b. 1978), Australian footballer

Pseudonyms

• Archibald (musician), stage name of Leon Gross (1916–1973), American R&B musician
• Archibald Peck, 2011 ring name of Robert Evans (wrestler) (b. 1983)
• Archibald, a pseudonym of Waldemar Łysiak

Fictional characters

• Archie Andrews (comics), the namesake character from Archie Comics
• Archibald Asparagus, a character from the Christian video series, VeggieTales
• Archie Bunker, a character in the sitcom All in the Family
• Captain Haddock, a character in Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin.
• Archibald the Koala, animated children's television series
• Archibald "Archie" Mitchell, a character from the television soap opera EastEnders
• Arcimboldo, a character in DC Comics
• Archie, a character played by Mark Strong in Guy's Ritchie movie Rock'N'Rolla
• Archie Wong, a character on Waterloo Road played by Christopher Chung.
• Archibald Archibaldovich, pirate and maitre d'hotel Griboyedev, minor comic character in The Master and Margarita
• Archibald Witwicky, the character from Transformers who discovered Megatron in his National Arctic Circle Expedition

Surname

Arcomboldo or Arcimboldi was used as a surname in Renaissance Italy; see Giovanni Arcimboldi, Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

Archibald is a modern Anglo-Saxon surname. Derived from the given name, it becomes frequent in Nova Scotia by the later 18th century. Early bearers of the name associated with Nova Scotia include:

Nova Scotia

• David Archibald (1717–1795) was born in Derry and came to Londonderry, New Hampshire in 1757. He represented Truro Township in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1766 to 1770.
  • Samuel Archibald (1742–1780), son of David Archibald, represented Truro Township in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1775 to 1777.
    • Samuel George William Archibald (1777–1846) was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, the son of Samuel Archibald and Rachel Todd. His grandfather David Archibald, an immigrant from Ulster, was one of the founders of Truro, and raised the boy after the death of his father in 1780.
      • Charles Dickson Archibald (1802–1868); Truro, Nova Scotia-native, businessman, son of Samuel George William Archibald
      • Sir Edward Mortimer Archibald (1810–1884); Truro, Nova Scotia-native, diplomat, son of Samuel George William Archibald.
        • Edith Archibald (1854–1936); Nova Scotian suffragist and author; daughter of Sir Edward Mortimer.
• Matthew Archibald (1745–1820) was an Irish-born farmer, tanner and political figure in Nova Scotia. He was born in Derry, the son of Samuel Archibald and Elizabeth Taylor, and came with his family to Londonderry, New Hampshire in 1757. The family moved to Nova Scotia five years later.
  • Matthew Archibald's son Alexander Lackie Archibald (1788–1859) also represented Truro in the assembly.
• Thomas Dickson Archibald (1813 – 1890) Onslow, Nova Scotia-native, politician
• Adams George Archibald (1814 – 1892); Truro, Nova Scotia-native, politician
• Cyril Archibald (1837–1914); South Stormont, Ontario-native, politician
• Donald Archibald (1840–1908); Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia-native, politician
• Edgar Archibald (1885–1968); Yarmouth, Nova Scotia-native, agricultural scientist
• George Archibald (ornithologist) (b. 1946); New Glasgow, Nova Scotia-native, American ornithologist

Other

The surname becomes more widespread in the Anglosphere in general during the 19th century:

Canada

• J. F. Archibald (1856–1919); Geelong West, Victoria-native, journalist and publisher
• Edward Archibald (athlete); (1884–1965); Canadian pole vaulter
• Frank C. Archibald (1887–1972); Harbour Grace, Newfoundland-native, politician
• Harry Archibald (1910–1965); Wynot, Saskatchewan-native, politician
• Nancy Archibald (1911–1996); Montreal-native, fencer
• Joan Archibald (1913–2002); Montreal-native, fencer
• Jim Archibald (b. 1961); Craik, Saskatchewan-native, ice hockey player
• Dave Archibald (b. 1969); Chilliwack, British Columbia-native, ice hockey player

United States

• George D. Archibald (1820– ?); Washington County, Pennsylvania-native, theologian
• James Archibald (1912–2006); Houlton, Maine-native, judge
• Joey Archibald (1914–1998); Providence, Rhode Island-native, boxer
• Lynn Archibald (1944–1997); American college basketball head coach (University of Utah, Idaho State University)
• Nate Archibald (b. 1948); South Bronx-native, basketball player
• Nolan D. Archibald, retired CEO of Black and Decker
• Ben Archibald (b. 1978); American player of gridiron football

Australia

• William Archibald (1850–1926), Adelaide politician. Born in St Pancras, London, Archibald was orphaned aged ten, emigrating to New Zealand in 1879 and thence to New South Wales and Victoria in 1881 before arriving in South Australia in 1882.
• Jeff Archibald (b. 1952); Auckland-native, field hockey player

United Kingdom

In the United kingdom, Archibald is mostly found as a Scottish surname.

• Adam Archibald (1879–1957); Leith-native, Victoria Cross recipient
• Jimmy Archibald (1892–1975); Falkirk-native, association footballer
• Bobby Archibald (1894–1966); Strathaven, South Lanarkshire-native, association footballer
• Sandy Archibald (1897–1946); Aberdour-native, association footballer
• George Archibald, 1st Baron Archibald (1898–1975), British politician, son of George W. Archibald, of Glasgow.
  • George Christopher Archibald (1926–1996); British economist, son of George Archibald, 1st Baron Archibald
• Joseph Archibald (d. 2014), Saint Kittitian-born British Virgin Islands lawyer and judge
• Steve Archibald (b. 1956); Glasgow-native, association footballer and manager
• Adrian Archibald (b. 1969); Ballymoney-native, motorcycle racer
• Alan Archibald (b. 1977); Glasgow-native football player
• Nicholas Archibald (b. 1975); Scottish cricketer
• Robert Archibald (b. 1980); Paisley, Renfrewshire-native, basketball player

Fictional characters

• Nate Archibald (Gossip Girl), a main character on the TV series Gossip Girl

References