It's a tangled web the Orrs do weave - and indeed, so do all the so-called Scotch-Irish, Ulster-Scots. The Orr family or "sept" (a family that gave allegiance to a more powerful family) was a follower of Clan Campbell and can be traced back to a Hew Orr who swore allegiance to Edward I in 1296, (The Ragman's Roll).

But there are records of Orrs living around the Parish of Lochwinnoch, south of Glasgow for some 700 years. The "family" became quite widespread in the West of Scotland and were in some numbers in Campbelltown on the Mull of Kintyre from about 1640.

Robert Bell, in his "Book of Ulster Surnames", tells us that Orr in Ireland is common only in Ulster, where it is chiefly found in counties Antrim, Down, Derry and Tyrone. Edward MacLysaght, an author and authority on Irish names, states that it derives from the parish of Orr in Kirkcudbrightshire. It is the name of an old Renfrewshire family and is most common in the west of the shire and in particular in the parish of Lochwinnoch.

Padraig Mac Giolla Domhnaigh, another leading author and authority on Gaelic names, claims that Orr was also used as an anglicization of Scots Gaelic Mac Iomhair, "son of Ivar", a name also made Maclver, Maclvor, MacUre and Ure.

The Ures were a sept of Clan Campbell and this, coupled with the prominence of the name Orr in Kintyre, particularly Campbeltown, lends weight to Mac Giolla Domhnaigh's statement. Some others in Scotland derive the name from the Gaelic odhar donn, odhar, meaning "sallow (of complexion)" and donn, meaning "brown".

I have seen claims that the Orr's came about through the diminutive of the MacGregor (`or) name and another from the French d'or. These are fanciful ideas and wholely without foundation. The simple fact is that the Orrs were about for some 300 years before the MacGregor name was proscribed in 1603 and 250 years before the first Huguenots went to Ireland.

Did we begin in Kirkcudbrightshire?

There is a suggestion that the Orrs took their name from a parish in Kirkcudbrightshire which is to some extent substantiated by the existence of the Parish of Urr (Pre 1975 Parish ref. 884 in Dumfries and Galloway Region) to the north west of the town of Dalbeattie.

There is, too, the earthwork called the Motte of Urr nearby and several other Urr features - Urr Water which flows to the sea from Loch Urr, Haugh of Urr and the Old Bridge of Urr. About 10 miles as the crow flies to the south west of Dalbeattie there is a small hamlet of Orroland.

The 12th century Motte of Urr is said to be the most extensive motte and bailey castle in Scotland. Its position in the valley of Urr Water is not especially commanding from a military standpoint but may well have been built on the site of a Anglo Saxon fort. Excavation at the top showed that the topmost two metres had been added after a 12th century fire had destroyed timber fences and houses. Coins and pottery indicate that there had been occupants until the 14th century.

The earliest records show the lordship of Urr in the possession of Walter de Berkeley (died ca. 1194) who was Chamberlain to King William I. Two witnesses to a Balliol of Urr Charter of 1262 were described as burgesses of Urr, but how long it lasted is not known. The region itself was home to many of the Border River families and an area of ongoing conflict with England. Perhaps the settlement was caught up in those events.

It is of interest that the run of the river valleys is generally north west- south east and this would have influenced migration - leading to Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire, where Orrs are to be found in number in later centuries. Dalry is about 20 miles and Dalmellington about 35 miles north west of Dalbeattie; and the nearby Nithsdale route runs from Dumfries to Kilmarnock, Lanarkshire, and to the River Clyde and Glasgow.

Lochwinnoch

Lochwinnoch is a pretty little town in Renfrewshire, population about 2,800, on the side of a Barr Loch and Castle Semple Loch. Just four miles south of Lochwinnoch is Kilbirnie which faces the town of Beith across Kilbirnie loch, and Dalry is about three miles further south. These are the parishes in which the Orr name appears time and time again. (Click here to read about the Orrs of Lochwinnoch).

Andro Crafurd [Andrew Crawford] wrote (ca. 1836) in his notes for "The Cairn of Lochwinnoch", "Lochwinnoch was the headquarters of the Orrs for above 500 years," and that Orrs were tenants of Paisley Monastery since the 1300s. In the Charter records of Paisley Abbey there is a summons at the instance of Robert, Abbott of Paisley dated January 1504 against:

John, Lord Rope of Hawshed
Alan Or
Ninian Or
Johnne Or
Johnne Or
William Glenne
Johnne Dunlop
Johnne ..whytefuird.

You can talk to Brian Orr on his own Discussion Board or you can click here to read more about his extensive research on the Orr family name.

Back to One Name Study, Main Page
Part One: Another way of Researching Family History
Part Two: Orr, Or, Ore, Orre
Part Three: The Origins of the Orr Family
Part Four: The Orrs of Lochwinnoch
Part Five: Orr Farms in the Lochwinnoch Area
Part Six: The Ulster Pedigree
Part Seven: The Land of Urr