Scottish Surnames of Clan Ogilvie – Origins, Tartans and Clan History

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In 1651, Oliver Cromwell’s army was pushing through Scotland. The Honours of Scotland — the oldest Crown Jewels in Britain — were in danger. The English Parliament ordered them destroyed. Dunnottar Castle, a clifftop fortress above the North Sea in Kincardineshire, was their last refuge. The castle’s commander was Sir George Ogilvy of Barras. He held out for eight months with a tiny garrison. Before the castle fell, the jewels were smuggled out in secret and hidden under the floor of Kinneff Parish Church, six miles away. They stayed there for eleven years. That act of fierce loyalty is pure Clan Ogilvie.

The Ogilvie clan has called Angus home for over 800 years. Their name is one of Scotland’s oldest. If your family name is Ogilvie, Ogilvy, or any of its many variants, that story belongs to you.

The Origins of the Ogilvie Name

The surname Ogilvie comes from a place. A barony in the parish of Glamis, Angus, bore the name Ogilvy. The family who held those lands took their name from them.

The word itself comes from the ancient Pictish language. Scholars believe it means “high plain” or “high ridge.” That fits the rolling Angus landscape perfectly. The land rises steadily from the coastal strip toward the Grampian hills.

The clan appears in written records from the 12th century. A landowner named Gillebride, connected to the Earls of Angus, is thought to be an early forefather. By the 13th century, the Ogilvies were one of Angus’s most powerful families. They held land in the Isla valley, around Kirriemuir, and across much of the county.

The clan chief today is David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie. The earldom dates from 1639. The chiefly seat is Cortachy Castle, near Kirriemuir in Angus. The clan motto is “A fin” — meaning “To the end.” After the story of Dunnottar, no motto could fit better.

Scottish Surnames Associated with Clan Ogilvie

Clan Ogilvie is not among the largest Scottish clans. It does not have a vast network of sept names. But the core surnames appear across the diaspora in large numbers — particularly in Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

If any of these names appear in your family tree, you may have Ogilvie roots.

Ogilvie

The standard modern spelling. This is the form most commonly used in Scotland today. You will find it in parish registers across Angus, Perthshire, and Aberdeenshire.

Ogilvy

The older, traditional Scottish spelling. Many Scottish families kept this form. You will see it most often in formal documents and in the chiefly title — the Earls of Airlie use the Ogilvy spelling. The National Records of Scotland holds many wills, charters, and estate papers under this spelling.

Ogilby

A variant that became common in Ulster and parts of northern England. Scottish settlers who moved to Ireland in the 17th century often used this form. If your family has Ulster-Scots or Scots-Irish connections, look for Ogilby in Irish records too.

Ogilbie, Ogilvey, and Ogily

These are older manuscript spellings. Clerks wrote what they heard, and spelling was not fixed until the 19th century. If you find these in Old Parish Records or emigration lists, they almost certainly point to the same family. Your ancestor’s name in an American or Canadian census may look nothing like the Scottish original.

Gilchrist

This name comes from the Gaelic “Gille Criosd,” meaning “servant of Christ.” Some Gilchrist families in Angus and the surrounding area are closely linked to the Ogilvie clan through old land ties. The connection runs deep in local history.

MacGilchrist

The Mac form of the same name. Found mainly in Angus and Perthshire. Some MacGilchrist branches adopted the Ogilvie name over generations. Others kept their older form through several centuries.

Airlie

A rare surname taken directly from the earldom title. A small number of descendants of the Earls of Airlie used Airlie as a personal surname. It is uncommon but worth searching in Angus records if you suspect a connection to the chiefly family.

The Ogilvie Tartans

Clan Ogilvie has two main tartans. Both use bold, striking colours that stand out on any kilt.

The Clan Ogilvie tartan uses red as its base. It has broad black stripes crossed with narrower lines of yellow and white. It is one of Scotland’s more distinctive patterns. You would not confuse it with another clan’s.

The Ogilvie of Airlie tartan is linked specifically to the chiefly family, the Earls of Airlie. It uses a similar palette but differs in the sett — the repeating sequence of coloured threads that creates the pattern. Both tartans reflect the bold character the clan showed throughout Scottish history.

Dunnottar Castle and the Honours of Scotland

The most dramatic chapter in Clan Ogilvie history centres on Dunnottar Castle and the Crown Jewels of Scotland.

The Honours of Scotland are three objects: the Crown, the Sceptre, and the Sword of State. They are the oldest Crown Jewels in Britain — older than the jewels in the Tower of London.

In 1651, Cromwell’s English forces demanded the Honours be handed over and destroyed. Scotland’s Parliament sent them to Dunnottar for safekeeping. Sir George Ogilvy of Barras commanded the castle with a small garrison of around 40 men. Cromwell’s forces began a siege in November 1651.

Sir George held out for eight months. His wife, Elizabeth Douglas, was with him throughout. Before the castle finally surrendered in May 1652, the jewels were smuggled out. The most widely told account credits Christian Grainger Fletcher, wife of the minister of Kinneff Parish Church. She is said to have hidden the Crown beneath her clothes and the Sceptre and Sword wrapped in bundles of flax.

The Honours were hidden beneath the floor of Kinneff Church. They remained there for eleven years. After Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, they were brought back to Edinburgh. Sir George Ogilvy never received the full reward he hoped for — a dispute over credit for the rescue dragged on for years. But the story secured the Ogilvie name in Scottish history forever.

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St John Ogilvie — Scotland’s Martyred Saint

The clan gave Scotland one of its most important saints.

John Ogilvie was born in 1579 in Drum-na-Keith in Banffshire. He grew up in a Protestant family. As a young man, he converted to Catholicism and trained as a Jesuit priest. He was ordained in 1610.

Scotland in the early 17th century was deadly for Catholic priests. The church was banned. In 1613, Ogilvie returned to Scotland in secret. He worked underground in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Renfrewshire. He said Mass in hidden rooms. He heard confessions in private houses. He kept the Catholic faith alive at enormous personal risk.

In 1614, a government spy betrayed him. He was arrested in Glasgow. His captors tried to break him. They kept him awake for eight days and nine nights — a form of torture. He refused to give up any names or renounce his faith. They hanged him in Glasgow on 10th March 1615. He was 35 years old.

Pope Paul VI canonised John Ogilvie on 17th October 1976. He is the only Scottish saint canonised in the 20th century. His feast day is 10th March.

Clan Ogilvie and the Jacobite Cause

The Ogilvies were strong Jacobites. They supported the Stuart kings through two generations of risings.

The feud between the Ogilvies and the Campbells ran for generations. In 1640, the Earl of Argyll ordered the burning of Airlie Castle — the Ogilvie clan seat in the Isla valley. The destruction was thorough. Little now remains. The ballad “The Bonnie House o’ Airlie” still remembers that day. The two clans were on opposite sides in most Scottish conflicts of the 17th and 18th centuries.

James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Airlie, raised a regiment for Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. After the disaster at Culloden in April 1746, he fled to France and lived in exile for years. His estates were forfeited. The earldom was only restored in 1826.

Many ordinary Ogilvie men fought and died at Culloden. After the defeat, British forces hunted Jacobite supporters across Scotland. Some Ogilvie families lost their land. Others faced arrest. The aftermath pushed many to think about leaving Angus for a new life elsewhere.

Clan Ogilvie and the Highland Clearances

The Jacobite defeat weakened many clans. But it was the Highland Clearances of the late 18th and 19th centuries that truly emptied the Scottish countryside.

Angus and the glens around the Isla valley — the Ogilvie heartland — saw large numbers of families leave. Landlords replaced tenant farms with sheep. Families who had farmed the same land for generations lost their homes.

Ogilvie families sailed from the ports of Montrose and Dundee in large numbers through the early 1800s. Many went to Canada, particularly to Upper Canada — modern Ontario. Towns like Guelph and Sarnia received waves of Scottish settlers in the 1820s and 1830s. Others went to Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. The Gaelic spoken in those Nova Scotian communities in the 19th century was the same Gaelic their grandparents had spoken in the glens of Angus. Clan Ogilvie gatherings in Ontario continued through the 20th century, keeping old songs and stories alive across the Atlantic and passing them down through families who had never set foot in Scotland.

Others went to Australia and New Zealand. The Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island received a significant wave of Scottish settlers, and Ogilvie descendants are well represented there today.

Tracing Your Ogilvie Ancestry

If you think you have Ogilvie roots, start with these key resources. Our Scottish Clan Records and Ancestry Guide walks you through the main archives step by step.

• ScotlandsPeople (scotlandspeople.gov.uk) — Scotland’s national genealogy website. It holds births, marriages, deaths, and Old Parish Records. Search all spelling variants: Ogilvie, Ogilvy, Ogilby, Gilchrist. Angus parishes began recording in many cases from the late 1600s.
• Angus Archives in Forfar — holds local records, estate papers, and maps for the Ogilvie heartland. This is the best starting point for anything connected to the Isla valley, Cortachy, or the Airlie estate.
• National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh — census records, wills, and court documents. An Ogilvie ancestor who owned land or left a will is likely recorded here.
• DNA testing — services like AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and MyHeritage can confirm clan connections. After testing, compare results with other Ogilvie descendants. The Clan Ogilvie Society maintains genealogy contacts and resources worldwide.

Visiting Clan Ogilvie Lands in Scotland

Angus is the heartland of Clan Ogilvie. Here is where to go if you want to walk in your ancestors’ footsteps.

Cortachy Castle stands in the valley of the South Esk river near Kirriemuir. This is the current seat of the Earls of Airlie, the clan chiefs. The castle is a private home. You can see it from the road, and the estate grounds are sometimes open for visitors.

Airlie Castle — the original clan seat — stood in the Isla valley near Alyth. The Campbells burned it in 1640. Little remains today. But the site in the valley is a powerful place for any Ogilvie descendant. The ballad of the Bonnie House o’ Airlie was still sung in the glen long after the ruins fell silent.

Glamis Castle is a short drive from the Ogilvie ancestral lands. The original Ogilvie barony of Ogilvy lay in this parish in Angus. The castle is one of Scotland’s finest and is open to visitors. The surrounding landscape has changed little in centuries.

Dunnottar Castle near Stonehaven is the most dramatic Ogilvie site. The clifftop ruin where Sir George Ogilvy held out for eight months is now one of Scotland’s most visited castles. Kinneff Church, where the Crown Jewels were hidden, is six miles south on the coastal road. You can easily visit both in a single day. If you are based in Aberdeen, Stonehaven is only 30 minutes south by road.

Kirriemuir Museum tells the story of Angus through local artefacts and records. It is a good first stop on any heritage visit to the region.

Frequently Asked Questions About Clan Ogilvie

What does the Ogilvie surname mean?

The name Ogilvie comes from a Pictish place name meaning “high plain” or “high ridge.” It began as the name of a barony in the parish of Glamis in Angus. The family who held that land in the 12th century took the place name as their own surname. Over the centuries, it spread with the family across Angus, Perthshire, and beyond.

What is the difference between Ogilvie and Ogilvy?

They are the same name in two different spellings. Ogilvy is the older, traditional Scottish form. Ogilvie became more common in the 19th and 20th centuries. Both refer to the same clan and the same family origins. In historical records you will also find Ogilby, Ogilbie, Ogilvey, and many other phonetic variants. Do not stop your search if the spelling looks different — it is almost certainly the same family.

Who is the chief of Clan Ogilvie?

The current clan chief is David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie. The title Earl of Airlie dates from 1639. The chiefly seat is Cortachy Castle near Kirriemuir in Angus. The clan motto is “A fin,” meaning “To the end” — a phrase that captures the loyalty the clan showed through centuries of Scottish history.

What happened to the Ogilvie clan after Culloden?

The 4th Earl of Airlie fled to France after the Jacobite defeat at Culloden in 1746. The British government forfeited the Airlie estates. Many ordinary Ogilvie families lost their security. Some emigrated to North America in the years that followed. The earldom was restored in 1826 when Parliament lifted the forfeiture. The clan gradually rebuilt its position in Angus over the following century.

Where do most Ogilvie descendants live today?

Outside Scotland, the largest populations of Ogilvie descendants are in Canada and the United States. Canada — particularly Ontario and Nova Scotia — received large numbers of Angus emigrants in the 19th century. The United States has significant communities in the Carolinas and New England. Australia and New Zealand also have established Ogilvie communities, particularly in the Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.

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