Show ContentsGarvie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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

Early Origins of the Garvie family

The surname Garvie 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 Garvie family

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

Garvie Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Garvin, Garvey, Garwin, Garvine, Garven, Garvan, Garvy, Garvie, Garwen and many more.

Early Notables of the Garvie 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 Garvie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Garvie migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Garvie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • James Garvie, aged 33, who arrived in New York, NY in 1803 2
  • Thomas Garvie, aged 26, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 2
  • George Garvie, who landed in Mississippi in 1855 2

Garvie migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Garvie Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Garvie, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Blundell" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 21st September 1848 3
  • Mrs. Garvie, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK with 2 children aboard the ship "Blundell" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 21st September 1848 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Garvie (post 1700) +

  • James B. Garvie, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention from Wayne County 8th District, 1961 4
  • John "Johnny" Garvie (1927-1996), Scottish professional footballer who scored 87 goals from 237 games
  • Maxwell Garvie (d. 1967), Scottish farmer and businessman who was murdered in 1967 by his wife and her lover, "one of the most infamous murders in Scottish criminal history"
  • William Garvie (1837-1872), Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician, born in the West Indies of Scottish descent; he represented Halifax County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1871 to 1872
  • Wayne Garvie (b. 1963), English film industry executive, President, International Production at Sony Pictures Television
  • Thomas Bowman Garvie (1859-1944), English prolific portrait artist, known for his portraits of Thomas Burt, Lord Percy, Lord Armstrong, George B Bainbridge, Fred B Fenwick and Sir William and Lady Grey
  • Lawrence R. Garvie (1933-2011), Canadian lawyer and politician from Westmount, Quebec; he represented the City of Fredericton and then Fredericton North in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1968 to 1978
  • Elizabeth Garvie (b. 1957), English actress best known for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1980 BBC dramatisation of Pride and Prejudice
  • Ernest Garvie (d. 1918), Scottish second lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry, recipient of the Military Cross, brother of Eddie Garvie; he was killed by a fellow officer during the Battle of the Lys in 1918
  • Edwin Stanley "Eddie" Garvie (1892-1915), Scottish amateur football half back and forward who played for Queen's Park (1911-1914); he died in a German prison hospital in Jülich on 15 October 1915
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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