Origins of the surname Stenhouse
Reposted from Genforum Scotland Genealogy Forum
From "The Surnames of Scotland" by Dr. G.F. Black
Stenhouse - from the place name in the parish of Larbert, Stirlingshire.
The first recorded use as a surname was John de Stanhus, who witnessed a grant to the Abbey of Cambuskenneth around 1200.
Adam de Stanus witnessed a document around the same time.
Roben of Stanhus was arrested for larceny in 1278.
Sir Robert Stanhus, a Pope's knight, was chaplain of Mariton in 1447.
John Stanis was a juror at an inquest at Cupar in 1522.
Johanne Stannus who witnessed a document in Dunfermline in 1525 appears latinised as Johannes Lapideedomus in 1549.
John Stainehous was a merchant burgess of Edinburgh 1636.
Alexander Stenos, tailer in Coldtrem died 1722.
Also spelt Stainhous 1674, Stannouse 1564, Stenhous 1638, Stennous 1644, Stenous 1567.
There are other places named Stenhouse. I think that the one referred to in the book is now Stenhousemuir. I don't know whether the people were called after the places, or some of these places were named after the family. There is also a place called Stonehouse in Lanarkshire.
Here in Edinburgh, there are a whole lot of roads called Stenhouse Drive, Avenue, Place, Street, Gardens, Crescent, Grove, etc. all together on the Stenhouse housing estate, which also houses the Stenhouse school. It is a somewhat unsalubroius area in a district called Saughton.
"The Place names of Edinburgh" by Stuart Harris
The Stenhouse street names in Saughton are derived from Stenhope, a family living there in 1511.
Stenhouse in Liberton is recorded as Stanehouse in 1478, and was named at a time when stone buildings were rare. Stenhouse Road was renamed in 1966 to avoid confusiuon with the one in Saughton, and is now called Ellen's Glen.
"The Castles of Scotland" by Martin Coventry lists 21 castles associated with the Bruce Family, including one known as Stenhouse. This is in Stenhousemuir, 2 miles north of Falkirk, near the Carron Iron Works.
These lands were held by the Watsons in the 15th century, and passed to the Bruces in 1611, who built the tower in 1622. It was demolished in 1960s. (Note - Robert Bruce was King from 1306-1329, and these Bruces were not his descendants).
There is no evidence that any of this land ever belonged to any family named Stenhouse, and the castle certainly did not, since it was built by the Bruces. The Stenhouses were merely named after the area in which the castle was built.
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Re: Origins of the surname Stenhouse
David Middleton Edelen II 9/28/08