Stewart (name)

Stewart is a Scottish surname (also used as a masculine given name) possibly of pre-7th century Old English origin, derived from stigeweard, the genitive prefix stige meaning "hall", and the suffix weard meaning "guardian" or "warden". An alternative spelling is Stuart. The progenitor of the Stewart family was Alan fitz Flaad, a Breton knight who settled in England after the Norman Conquest. His son, Walter fitz Alan, relocated to Scotland during the Anarchy, became the High Steward of Scotland, hence the origin of the surname. Stewart is the 66th-most common surname in the United Kingdom.

House of Stewart

One of the hereditary Stewart stewards, Walter Stewart, married Marjorie Bruce, daughter of King Robert I, and founded the royal House of Stuart (a French spelling), beginning with their son King Robert II. The House of Stewart was the longest serving royal dynasty of Scotland. In 1603, the Stewart King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England and Wales by his succession to Queen Elizabeth I. The Stewart dynasty ruled Scotland, England and Wales (with an interruption during Cromwell's Commonwealth after the English Civil War) until 1714, when Queen Anne died and the British Crown passed to the German Electors of Hanover.