Overview of Murray

A name deriving from the region of Moray in northeast Scotland. The Murrays descend from the same line as the Earls of Sutherland. Murrays were also the Lords Bothwell in the 13th and 14th C. Sir John Murray became the Earl of Tullibardine in 1606 and this line brought the name to the Dukes of Atholl, who are today the clan chiefs. Other titles within the family include the Earls of Mansfield and the Earls of Dunmore.

Notable members of the family include Lord George Murray (1694 - 1760), the son of the 1st Duke of Atholl, who was a highly-effective, if reluctant, Jacobite commander; his younger brother a successful Hanoverian General Lord John Murray (1711-87); classical scholar Alexander Murray (1775 - 1813); oceanographer Sir John Murray (1841 - 1914); comedian Chic Murray (1919-85); athlete Yvonne Murray (b.1964) and tennis-player Andy Murray (b.1987).

The ancient Earldom of Moray has been associated with the Stuart family since the 16th C., when it was granted to James Stuart, illegitimate son of King James V.