Show ContentsMcGarvie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Today's Irish surnames are underpinned by a multitude of rich histories. The name McGarvie originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Gairbhin, derived from the word "garbh," which means "rough." 1

Early Origins of the McGarvie family

The surname McGarvie was first found in County Tyrone (Irish: Tír Eoghain), the ancient territory of the O'Neills, now in the Province of Ulster, central Northern Ireland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the McGarvie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McGarvie research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1000, 1527, 1558, 1560 and 1595 are included under the topic Early McGarvie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McGarvie Spelling Variations

A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name McGarvie include Garvin, Garvey, Garwin, Garvine, Garven, Garvan, Garvy, Garvie, Garwen and many more.

Early Notables of the McGarvie family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was John Garvey (1527-1595), an Irish Protestant bishop of Kilmore and Archbishop of Armagh. He was the eldest son of John O'Garvey of Morisk, co. Mayo and was born in the county of Kilkenny. "He was educated at Oxford, where he graduated in the reign of Edward VI; but through some negligence his name does not appear in the public...
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McGarvie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Australia McGarvie migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

McGarvie Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Philip McGarvie, Scottish convict who was convicted in Aberdeen, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the ""Blenheim"" on 24th July 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) and Norfolk Island, Australia 2

Contemporary Notables of the name McGarvie (post 1700) +

  • William McGarvie (1810-1841), Scottish-born, Australian bookseller and newspaper owner in New South Wales
  • John McGarvie (1795-1853), Scottish-born, Australian Presbyterian minister and writer
  • Richard Elgin McGarvie AC, KStJ, QC (1926-2003), Australian judge in the Supreme Court of Victoria, 24th Governor of Victoria (1992 to 1997), eponym of the McGarvie Model, a proposition for change to the Australian Constitution


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
  2. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim


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