Show ContentsMcGilvery History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The background history of the name McGilvery starts in ancient Scotland among the Pictish people. The name McGilvery is derived from a personal name meaning servant of judgement. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Gillebhrath.

Early Origins of the McGilvery family

The surname McGilvery was first found in Argyllshire (Gaelic erra Ghaidheal), the region of western Scotland corresponding roughly with the ancient Kingdom of Dál Riata, in the Strathclyde region of Scotland, now part of the Council Area of Argyll and Bute, but this family seat was later moved to Iona with the advent of St. Columba. From this original descendancy came Giolla Brighid, known also as Gillibride, or Gillivray. Gillivray's son, Somerled, the 8th and greatest Thane of Argyll, Lord of Kintyre, and founder of the 'Kingdom of the Isles' was instrumental in driving out the invading Norse (Vikings) from his Kingdom, commencing in 1140 AD. However, Somerled, still gave allegiance to the King of Vikings which continued until 1222, long after Somerled's death in 1164 AD. At this time, Alexander II of Scotland routed many of the Clans 'of the Isles', leaving them eastern Scotland in an area from Glasgow north to Inverness to the East Coast. The MacGillivrays were moved northwards to Lochabe. They became closely associated with their neighbors, the McInnises, the McMasters, and the MacEacherns. They also joined the great Pictish confederacy of Clans known as the Clan Chattan, an association of some twenty six Clans, during the time of Ferquhard, 5th Chief of the MacKintosh, and Chief of the Clan Chattan.

Early History of the McGilvery family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McGilvery research. Another 327 words (23 lines of text) covering the years 1467, 1535, 1542, 1550, 1688, 1745 and 1822 are included under the topic Early McGilvery History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McGilvery Spelling Variations

Prior to the invention of the printing press in the last hundred years, documents were basically unique. Names were written according to sound, and often appeared differently each time they were recorded. Spelling variations of the name McGilvery include MacGillivray, MacGillivery, MacGillivary, MacGillivry, MacIlvray, MacIlvrae, MacIlwrach, MacIlwray, MacGivery, MacGivray, McGillivrae and many more.

Early Notables of the McGilvery family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was MacGillivray of Dunmaglass. The Hon. William McGillivray, son of Donald McGillivray of Dalscoilte, near Dunmaglass, was the head of the NorthWest Company fur trading...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McGilvery Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States McGilvery migration to the United States +

The freedom of the North American colonies was enticing, and many Scots left to make the great crossing. It was a long and hard journey, but its reward was a place where there was more land than people and tolerance was far easier to come by. Many of these people came together to fight for a new nation in the American War of Independence, while others remained loyal to the old order as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of Scots in North America have recovered much of this heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and other such organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important and early immigrants to North America bearing the name of McGilvery:

McGilvery Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Farquhar McGilvery, who landed in Georgia in 1742 [1]
  • John McGilvery, who arrived in Georgia in 1748 [1]

Canada McGilvery migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McGilvery Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • A McGilvery, who landed in Victoria, British Columbia in 1862

Contemporary Notables of the name McGilvery (post 1700) +

  • William McGilvery, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maine, 1864 [2]


  1. 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)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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