This is a Scottish locational name from the barony of Ogilvie near Glamis in the former county of Angus. In the modern idiom the surname has several spellings including Ogilvie, Ogilvy and Ogilby. The name probably derives from the Olde Welsh "ugl" meaning "high" and "ma" a place. Gilbert, son of Gillebride, first Earl of Angus, was the first to assume the surname, when he was granted the manor of Ogilvy in 1172. Old forms of the name include de Oggiluill (1267). Walter de Ogilby was appointed High Treasured of Scotland in 1425, David of Ogilby was hostage for the King of Scotland in 1425, and the name appears as Ogelbe(1531), Ogglebie 1665, and Oglevie in 1661. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alexander de Oggoluin, which was dated 1232, in the Miscellany of the Scottish Historical Society, Edinburgh, during the reign of Alexander 11, 1214 - 1249. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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