Murray ( listen ) is both a Scottish and an Irish surname with two distinct respective etymologies. The Scottish version is a common variation of the word Moray, an anglicisation of the Medieval Gaelic word Muireb (or Moreb); the b here was pronounced as v, hence the Latinization to Moravia. These names denote the district on the south shore of the Moray Firth, in Scotland. Murray is a direct transliteration of how Scottish people pronounce the word Moray. The Murray spelling is not used for the geographical area, which is Moray, but it became the commonest form of the surname, especially among Scottish emigrants, to the extent that the surname Murray is now much more common than the original surname Moray. See also Clan Murray.
The Irish version derives from Ó Muireadhaigh. However, there were many Scottish Murray immigrants into Ireland during the Middle Ages and so a Murray of Irish heritage today could be descended from either source of the name.
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 great 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 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 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.
Murray may refer to many people (see also Clan Murray):
Adam Murray, English footballer
Adam Murray, Irish soldier known for the 1689 defence of Derry
Al Murray, comedian
Albert Murray, including:
Albert Murray (writer) (1916–2013), African American literary and jazz critic, novelist and biographer
Albert Murray, Baron Murray of Gravesend (1930–1980), British Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament 1964– 1970
Bert Murray (born 1942), English football player
Alexander Murray (1755–1821), U.S. Navy officer, Revolutionary War
Alexander Murray (1816–1884), U.S. Navy officer, Mexican-American and American Civil Wars
Alexander Murray (geologist) (1810–1884), Scottish geologist
Alexander Murray (linguist) (1775–1813), linguist and professor at Edinburgh University
Alexander Murray, 1st Baron Murray of Elibank (1870–1920)
Alexander Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore
Alexander Murray, 8th Earl of Dunmore
Alexander Borthwick Murray (1816–1903), South Australian colonist, pastoralist and parliamentarian
Alexander Hunter Murray (1818 or 1819–1874), a Hudson's Bay Company fur trader and artist
Alexander Stuart Murray (1841–1904), archaeologist
Aline Murray Kilmer, American poet
Allan Murray, Australian rules footballer
Alma Murray, (born 1854), actress
Andrew Murray, including:
Sir Andrew Murray, Guardian of Scotland in 1332 and again from 1335 to 1338
Andrew Murray (botanist), (1812–1878), Scottish botanist
Andrew Murray (Guyanese boxer) (1971–2002), Guyanese boxer of the 1990s and 2000s
Andrew Murray (campaigner and journalist), Chair of the Stop the War Coalition and former member of the Communist Party of Britain
Andrew Murray (children's writer), English children's writer
Andrew Murray (golfer) (born 1956), English golfer
Andrew Murray (minister) (1828–1917), South African minister of religion, missionary, and author
Andrew Murray (Australian politician), Australian politician, current member of the Australian Senate
Andrew Murray, 1st Viscount Dunedin
Andrew C. Murray, Texas state representative, 1893–1895, 1903–1905, and 1911–1917
Andy Murray (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player, coach
Sir Andy Murray (born 1987), currently the top-ranked British tennis player
Ann Murray, Irish mezzo-soprano
Anna Evans Murray (1857-1955), American advocate for early childhood education
Anne Murray (born 1945), Canadian singer
Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl
Anton Murray, South African cricketer
Antonio Murray, English football player
Antonio Murray (police officer), former Baltimore Police officer sentenced to 139 years in prison
Archibald Murray (1860–1945), British general
Arnold Murray, including:
Arnold Murray (pastor) (born 1927), founder and pastor, The Shepherd's Chapel
Arnold Murray (1854-1952), one of the Last surviving Confederate veterans
Arnold Murray (1933–89), lover of Alan Turing, prosecuted for homosexual activity
Arthur Murray (1895–1991), American dance instructor and businessman, married to Kathryn Murray
Arthur Murray, 3rd Viscount Elibank
Athol Murray, Canadian priest and high school president
Lady Augusta Murray
Barbara Murray, actress
Bert Murray (born 1942), English football player
Bill Murray (born 1950), American actor
Billy Murray (actor) (born 1941), British actor
Billy Murray (singer) (1877–1954), American singer
Bob Murray (businessman), businessman and former chairman of Sunderland Football Club
Brady Murray, American ice hockey player
Brett Murray, South African artist
Brian Doyle-Murray, American comedian, screenwriter and actor
Bruce C. Murray, American planetary scientist
Bruce Murray (cricketer), New Zealand cricketer
Bruce Murray (soccer), American soccer player
Bryan Murray (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey coach and executive
Chad Michael Murray (born 1981), American actor, former male fashion model and teen idol
Charles Murray (disambiguation)
Charles R. Murray (1882–1938), Canadian professional golfer
Charlotte Murray (1754–1808), English botanist and author better known as Lady Charlotte Murray
Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl (1731–1805)
Cheryl Murray (born 1952), British actress
Chris Murray (born 1966), Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
Christian Murray, Canadian comedy writer
Clark Murray (born 1938), American sculptor
Colin Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
Conor Murray (born 1989), Irish rugby union player
Conrad Murray (born 1953), personal physician of Michael Jackson
Craig Murray (born 1958), former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan
Daniel Murray (mathematician) (born 1862) Canadian mathematician
Daniel Alexander Payne Murray (1852–1925), African American intellectual
Darren Murray (born 1974), Scottish footballer
Darrin Murray (born 1967), New Zealand cricketer
Dave Murray (musician) (born 1956), Iron Maiden guitarist
David Murray (disambiguation)
David Christie Murray (1847–1907), English journalist and writer
David Murray-Lyon (1890–1975), officer in the Indian Army
Dee Murray (1946–1992), British bassist, best known as a member of Elton John's original rock band
Denis Murray (journalist) (born 1951), British television journalist
DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys running back
Denis Murray (athlete), Irish athlete at the 1908 Olympic Games in London
Deryck Murray (born 1943), former West Indies cricketer
Devon Murray (born 1988), Irish actor
Don Murray (clarinetist) (1904–1929), American jazz musician
Don Murray (actor) (born 1929), American actor
Don Murray (writer) (1923–2006), Pulitzer Prize–winning writer for the Boston Herald
Donald Walter Gordon Murray (1894–1976), Canadian surgeon
Douglas Murray (ice hockey) (born 1980), Swedish ice hockey player
Durno Murray (1925–2009), Australian ornithologist
Earl Murray (1926–1994), American football player
Ed Murray (Washington politician), politician from Washington State
Eddie Murray (born 1956), American baseball player
Eddie Murray (American football)
Edmund P. Murray (1930–2007), American novelist and journlist
Edwin R. Murray (born 1960), American politician
Elaine Murray, Scottish politician
Eli Houston Murray, Governor of Utah Territory (1880–1886)
Eoin Murray, Irish auto racing driver
Eric Murray (bridge) (born 1928), Canadian bridge player
Eric Murray (cricketer), South African cricketer
Eric Murray (rower), New Zealand rower
Eustace Clare Grenville Murray (1824–1881), English journalist
Francis Murray, mayor of Brisbane
Francis Edwin Murray, poet
Francis Joseph Murray, American mathematician known for his foundational work on functional analysis
Frank Murray, coach of the Virginia Cavaliers
Franny Murray, American football player
Frieda A. Murray, fantasy writer
Garth Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
Geoffrey Cushing-Murray, American songwriter
George Murray (disambiguation)
Gideon Oliphant-Murray, 2nd Viscount Elibank
Gilbert Murray, British intellectual
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto
Glen Murray (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player
Glen Murray (politician) (born 1957), Canadian politician
Glenn Murray, English football player
Gerald R. Murray, 14th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Gordon Murray, designer of Formula One race cars
Gordon Murray (puppeteer) (1921–2016), British television producer and puppeteer
K. Gordon Murray, American film producer
Grace Hopper, Grace Murray Hopper, American computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral
Graham Murray, Australian rugby league player and coach
Graham Murray, Irish GAA all star.
Grant Murray, Scottish professional footballer
Grover E. Murray, President of Texas Tech University (1966–1976)
Guillermo Murray (born 1927), Argentine-Mexican actor and director
Guy Murray, American track/cross country coach and former marathon runner
Hannah Murray (born 1989), English actress
H. J. R. Murray (1868–1955), English chess historian
Harry Murray (1880–1966), Australian Victoria Cross recipient
Henry Murray, (1893–1988), American psychologist who developed the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Herbert Harley Murray (1829–1904), English colonial governor
Herbert Murray (footballer) (1886–1918), Scottish footballer
Hubert Murray (1861–1940), brother of Gilbert Murray
Hugh Murray (disambiguation)
Iain Murray (disambiguation)
Iain Murray (sailor), Australian olympic sailor
Ian Murray (disambiguation)
J. A. Murray (naturalist)
Jack Murray (disambiguation)
Jaime Murray, English actress
Jamal Murray (born 1997), Canadian basketball player
James Murray (disambiguation)
Jamie Murray, Scottish tennis player
Jan Murray, American stand-up comedian
Janice Murray, English association footballer
Janet Murray, professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Jenni Murray, British journalist and broadcaster
Jennifer Murray, British pilot and the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a helicopter
Jillian Murray, an American Actress
Jim Murray (football), an American football executive
Jim Murray (musician), a San Francisco musician of the 1960s
Jim Murray (sportswriter) (1919–1998), American sportswriter
Joan Murray, American poet
Joel Murray, American actor
John Murray (disambiguation)
John Courtney Murray, American priest and theologian
John Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl
John Stewart-Murray, 8th Duke of Atholl
Johnston Murray, Governor of Oklahoma
Jon Murray (disambiguation)
Jonathan Murray, television producer
Joseph Murray (disambiguation)
Judith Sargent Murray
Judy Murray Scottish tennis coach
Juggy Murray
Junior Murray (born 1968), West Indian cricketer
Kate Murray
Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl
Keith Murray (ceramic artist)
Keith Murray (rapper)
Keith Murray (singer) (born 1978), lead vocalist for We Are Scientists
Keith Murray, Baron Murray of Newhaven (1903–1993), British academic
Ken Murray (disambiguation)
Kenny Murray
Kevin Murray (disambiguation)
Lamond Murray (born 1973), basketball player
Larry Murray
Lawrence J. Murray, Jr. (1910–2000), New York politician
Lawrence O. Murray, U.S. Comptroller of the Currency from 1908 to 1913
Lee Murray (born 1977), a British mixed martial arts fighter of partial Moroccan descent.
Len Murray (Lionel Murray, Baron Murray of Epping Forest, 1922–2004), British Trade Union leader
Lenda Murray (born 1962), American female bodybuilder
Les Murray (broadcaster)
Les Murray (poet)
Leticia Murray
Lindley Murray
Lindley Murray (tennis) (1892–1970), American tennis player
Liz Murray
Lowell Murray
Madalyn Murray O'Hair (1919–1995), American atheist
Mae Murray (1885–1965), American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter
Magnus Miller Murray (1787–1838), Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Margaret Murray (1863–1963), British Egyptologist
Margaret Polson Murray (1865–1927), Canadian social reformer, magazine editor, and founder of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire
Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray (1888–1982)American-Canadian newspaper editor, publisher, and columnist
Margaret Murray Washington (1865-1925), principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
Mark Murray (disambiguation)
Marty Murray (born 1975), Canadian hockey player
Matt Murray (disambiguation)
Matthew Murray (1765–1826), English steam engine and machine tool manufacturer
Michael Murray (organist) (born 1943), American musician and writer
Mike Murray (cricketer) (born 1930), English banker, cricketer and administrator
Mike Murray (ice hockey) (born 1966), Canadian hockey player and coach
Mitch Murray ((born 1940), English songwriter, record producer and author
Mitchell Durno Murray (1925-2009), Australian veterinary scientist and ornithologist
Montolieu Oliphant-Murray, 1st Viscount Elibank (1840–1927), Scottish nobleman
Nathan Lovett-Murray
Nathaniel A. Murray
Nathaniel O. Murray, American politician
Neil Murray (Australian musician)
Neil Murray (British musician)
Nora Grace Murray (American dignitary)
Patrick Murray (disambiguation)
Patty Murray (Patricia Lynn Murray, born 1950), United States Senator
Paul Murray (disambiguation)
Pauli Murray
Peta Murray, Australian writer
Pete Murray, Australian singer-songwriter
Pete Murray (disc jockey)
Peter Murray (Harvard Law School), Harvard Law professor
Peter Murray-Rust
Philip Murray
Raymond Murray, American Marine Corps officer
Red Murray, American baseball player
Rem Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
Richard Murray, British businessman
Richard William Murray, Cape Colony newspaper proprietor
Rob Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
Robert Murray (disambiguation)
Robin Murray, British psychiatrist
Ronald Murray, American basketball player
Ronald King Murray, Lord Murray, Scottish politician and judge
Ruby Murray, Northern Ireland singer
Rupert Murray, film director
Sabina Murray
Samantha Murray
Samantha Murray (tennis)
Scott Murray, Scottish rugby player
Sean Murray (disambiguation)
Shaun Murray
Simon Murray
Stephen Murray, including:
Stephen Murray (actor) (1912–1983), British actor
Stephen O. Murray (born 1950), a sociologist, anthropologist scholar specialising in homosexuality
Stuart Murray
Stuart S. Murray
Suna Murray
Sunny Murray
Sara Murray
T. C. Murray, Irish dramatist
Tavi Murray, 8th woman to win the Polar Medal
Terence Aubrey Murray (1810–1873), politician in New South Wales
Terry Murray
Therese Murray, American politician, President of the Massachusetts Senate
Thomas Murray (disambiguation), including:
Thomas Murray (curler)
Tim Murray
Tom J. Murray, Democratic U.S. Representative from Tennessee (1943–1966)
Tracy Murray, NBA basketballer
Troy Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
Ty Murray, American champion rodeo cowboy, husband of Jewel
Wal Murray, Australian politician
Walter Charles Murray
Will Murray (writer)
Willard H. Murray, Jr.
William Murray (disambiguation)
William H. Murray (Medal of Honor recipient), American Medal of Honor recipient
Yvonne Murray, Scottish athlete
