Armstrong (surname)

Armstrong is a surname of English and Scottish borders origin.

History

The name Armstrong derives from a Middle English nickname which meant someone with strong arms.
The Scottish Armstrong is reputed to have been originally bestowed by "an antient king of Scotland" upon "Fairbairn, his armour-bearer" following an act of strength in battle.
Clan Armstrong is a famous Border Reiver clan from the border area between England and Scotland, although the Armstrongs were predominately based on the Scottish side of the border. Many members of the clan were granted lands in County Fermanagh and neighbouring Irish counties during the Ulster Plantations.
In Ireland the name was also adopted as an Anglicization of two Gaelic names from Ulster: Mac Thréinfhir and Ó Labhraidh Tréan. From the name Ó Labhraidh Tréan the following surnames survive: "Trainor", Traynor", O'Lavery", "McLavery", and "MacLavery".
Although the name "Armstrong" is quite common in the Aghagallon and Glenavy area of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, the other names are to be found within the nine Ulster Counties and Scotland, especially along the west coast.
In the UK this surname is well represented in North East England, Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Scottish Borders, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway, and Northern Ireland. It is also well represented in the Deep South of the United States, and other southern states.

Famous people

Disambiguation of common names with this surname

Arts and letters

Alun Armstrong (actor), English actor
Angeline Armstrong, Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist, and the frontwoman of Telenova
Anton Armstrong, American choral conductor and professor
Arkeria Rose Armstrong, Australian Aboriginal artist
Benita Armstrong, British sculptor
Bess Armstrong, American actress
Beth Diane Armstrong, South African sculptor
Billie Joe Armstrong, American vocalist of Green Day
Campbell Armstrong, Scottish writer
Curtis Armstrong, American actor
Emily Armstrong, American singer
Eve Armstrong, New Zealand artist
Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong, British pop singer Dido
Frankie Armstrong, English vocalist
Franny Armstrong, film director
Gail Armstrong (illustrator), British artist
Gillian Armstrong, Australian film director
Graeme Armstrong (author), Scottish author
Heather Armstrong, aka Dooce, American writer
Helen Maitland Armstrong, American stained glass artist
Jeannette Armstrong, Canadian writer
Jerome Armstrong, American journalist
Karen Armstrong, English author
Kelley Armstrong, Canadian author
Kerry Armstrong, Australian actor
Louis Armstrong, American jazz musician
Maitland Armstrong, American artist and diplomat
Margaret Neilson Armstrong, book designer, illustrator, and writer
Mick Armstrong, Australian socialist and author
Paige Armstrong, American Christian singer-songwriter
Peter Armstrong, English poet
R. G. Armstrong, American actor
Rebecca Patricia Armstrong, Thai actress, singer, model
Ruth Alice Armstrong, American social activist, writer, lecturer
Ryan Kiera Armstrong, American actress
Samaire Armstrong, American actor and fashion designer
Tammy Armstrong, Canadian poet and writer
The Armstrong Twins, bluegrass and country music act in the 1940s and '50s
Vaughn Armstrong, American actor

Politics and government

Adolphus T. Armstrong, Canadian politician
Chris Armstrong (political theorist), British political theorist and author
Cornelius W. Armstrong, New York politician
Ernest Armstrong (British politician), a British Labour Party politician.
Frederick Thomas Armstrong, Canadian politician
Hilary Armstrong, British politician
John Franklin Armstrong, Texas state representative
Kelly Armstrong, American politician from North Dakota
Tara Armstrong, Canadian politician
Ward Armstrong, American politician from Virginia

Religion

Annie Armstrong American missionary leader
Garner Ted Armstrong, American evangelist, son of Herbert W. Armstrong
Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, father of Garner Ted Armstrong

Science and technology

Alice Armstrong, American physicist
Beulah Armstrong, American mathematician
Dorsey Armstrong, American Arthurian scholar
Edwin Armstrong, full name Edwin Howard Armstrong,, American electrical engineer and inventor of FM radio
James Armstrong (engineer), British structural engineer
Lilias Armstrong, English phonetician
Mark Armstrong (astronomer), British amateur astronomer
Neil Armstrong, American astronaut, first man on Moon
William Ward Armstrong, Canadian computer scientist

Sports

The Armstrong wrestling family, an American family including:
*Bob Armstrong, and his sons:
**Scott Armstrong
**Brad Armstrong (wrestler)
**Steve Armstrong
**Brian Armstrong, best known as Road Dogg
Austin Armstrong, American football coach
Alun Armstrong (footballer), English player
B. J. Armstrong, former basketball player, most notably with the Chicago Bulls
Brian Armstrong (footballer), New Zealand international football player
Bruce Armstrong, American football player
Colby Armstrong, Canadian hockey player
Cornell Armstrong, American football player
Dale Armstrong, Canadian drag racer
Darrell Armstrong, American professional basketball player
Davey Armstrong, American boxer
Debbie Armstrong, Olympic gold medalist in Alpine skiing
Dorance Armstrong, American football player
Duncan Armstrong, Australian Olympic gold medalist in swimming
Elizabeth Armstrong (water polo), an American water polo goalkeeper
Evan Armstrong, Scottish boxer of the 1960s and 1970s
Gary Armstrong (rugby), Scottish rugby player
Gary Armstrong (footballer), English footballer
Genevieve Armstrong, New Zealand rower
George Armstrong, ironman ran 100+ marathons.
Gerry Armstrong |Gerry Armstrong, Northern Irish footballer
Graham Armstrong, American football player
Hilton Armstrong, American basketball player
Ken Armstrong (footballer born 1924), an England and New Zealand dual-international footballer
Ken Armstrong (footballer born 1959), an English-born footballer
Kevin Armstrong (dual player), Irish football player
Kristin Armstrong, professional road bicycle racer and Olympic gold medalist
Lance Armstrong, American cyclist
Marcus Armstrong, New Zealand racing driver
Mark Armstrong (equestrian), British international representative show-jumper
Mark Armstrong (footballer), New Zealand international football player
Neil Armstrong (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player
Neill Armstrong, American football player
Norman Armstrong, English cricketer
Otis Armstrong, American football player
Ron Armstrong, a New Zealand international footballer
Russ Armstrong, American curler
Shawn Armstrong, American baseball player
Stuart Armstrong, Scottish footballer
Taran Armstrong, Australian basketball player
Tommy Armstrong Jr., American football player
Trace Armstrong, American football player
Warwick Armstrong, Australian Test cricketer

Military personnel

Bigoe Armstrong, British Army general
Charles L. Armstrong, United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel
D'Urban Armstrong, South African flying ace
Frank A. Armstrong, United States Air Force General
Frederick C. Armstrong, Canadian flight commander and flying ace
Hugo Armstrong, Australian flying ace

Other

Archibald Armstrong, court jester to James I and Charles I
Dwight Armstrong, American domestic terrorist
Elizabeth Armstrong (settler), American settler who took part in the Black Hawk War
Eugene Armstrong, American construction contractor who was beheaded in Iraq
Herbert Rowse Armstrong, British murderer – the "Hay poisoner"
J. Scott Armstrong, Wharton Business School professor
Rebekka Armstrong, American bodybuilder, former Playboy model and AIDS activist
Sally Ward Lawrence Hunt Armstrong Downs, also known as Sallie Ward,, American socialite
Harrison Armstrong, also known as Aitch,, British rapper

Fictional people

The Armstrong family, victims of a crime in Murder on the Orient Express
The Armstrong family, protagonists of Lisa: The Painful and its related games. Notably, Marty Armstrong, Bradley Armstrong, Lisa Armstrong, and Buddy Armstrong.
Alex Louis Armstrong, the state alchemist from Fullmetal Alchemist
Olivier Mira Armstrong, the Briggs general from Fullmetal Alchemist
Catherine Elle Armstrong, the youngest daughter of Armstrong Family from Fullmetal Alchemist
Chuck Armstrong, a character from the Cars film series
Coach Armstrong, a character from Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, radio series character on the show of the same name
Seth Armstrong - a character from Emmerdale
Sean Armstrong, the main protagonist in the film Mr. Nanny
Steven Armstrong, the main antagonist from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Stretch Armstrong, action figure first introduced in the 1970s
Sue Ellen Armstrong - a character from the fictional show Arthur
Tina Armstrong and her father, Bass, two characters from the Dead or Alive video game series