A considerable number of present bearers of this surname are of Scottish origin, especially in
Ulster. Possible etymologies are: • From
Moray in northeast Scotland, which came from the Scottish Gaelic for "sea settlement". • As a native Irish of this name, from Mac Muireadhaigh or Ó Muireadhaigh "descendant of Muireadhach" or Mac Giolla Mhuire "descendant of the servant of the
Virgin Mary". The
motto for Murray is
Imperio. "Murrays" trace their heritage back to the 12th century and take their name from the province of Moray, once a local kingdom. It was during this time that the
Flemish lords crossed the
North Sea and established themselves in the
Scottish realm. Among them was
Freskin. It is possible that either Freskin or his son William intermarried with the ancient
royal house of Moray. The senior line of the Murrays took the surname of
Sutherland and became
Earls of Sutherland by 1235. Thereafter, the chiefs of the Murrays were the Lords of Petty in Moray, who also became Lords of
Bothwell in
Clydesdale before 1253. An heir of this line,
Sir Andrew Moray, was the brilliant young general who led the
Scots in 1297 in their first uprising against English rule. He was mortally wounded while winning his famous victory at the
Battle of Stirling Bridge. His son,
Sir Andrew Murray, 4th Lord of Bothwell, third
Regent of
Scotland, married Christian Bruce, a sister of King
Robert the Bruce. He was captured at
Roxburgh early in 1333 and was a prisoner in England at the time of the
Battle of Halidon Hill. He obtained his freedom in time to march to the relief of his wife, who was defending
Kildrummy Castle. Sir Andrew commenced with unabated spirit to struggle in the cause of independence and died in 1338. The last Murray Lord of
Bothwell died in 1360 of the
plague. By the 16th century, the Murrays of Tullibardine in
Strathearn had assumed the leadership of the Murrays. This was formally confirmed by Bands of Association in 1586 and 1589. Sir John became the 1st
Earl of Tullibardine in 1606. Thus, the Tullibardine hegemony was firmly established among the Murrays; and George Iain Murray, 10th
Duke of Atholl was also Marquis of Tullibardine as recognized in Lyon Register as Chief of the Murrays. The 2nd
Earl of Tullibardine William Murray, 1574 circa – 1628, married Lady Dorothea
Stewart, heiress of the Earls of Atholl in 1629 and Marquises from 1676. To their
medieval peacock's head crest (motto-Praite), they added the
mermaid (motto-Tout Pret), as Lords of Balquidder; and in the seventeenth century, they took the demi-savage holding a sword and a key commemorating the capture of the last
Lord of the Isles by the 1st Stewart Earl of Atholl in 1475: hence the motto Furth, Fortune, and Fill the Fetters. (Go forth against your enemies, have good fortune, and return with hostages and booty). Since 1703, the Murray's chiefs have been
Dukes of Atholl. For a time in the 18th century, the Murray dukes were also Sovereign Lords of the
Isle of Man, with their own coinage and parliament, The House of Keys. The 1st Duke's younger son, Lord George Murray, was the
Jacobite general responsible for the highlander's successes through the early part of the
1745 uprising. Much of the above information about the Murrays was taken from the book
The Highland Clans, by
Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk. Lord George's descendant
George Murray, 10th Duke of Atholl, died in February 1996. The new
Duke of Atholl is
John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl, a
South African. The new Duke has taken the chiefship of the Murrays. ==People==