Ramsay
Modern Crest
Gaelic Name: Ramsaidh
Crest: A unicorn’s head couped Argent armed Or
Motto: Ora Et Labora (Pray and work)
Lands: Dalhousie, Banff
Origin of Name: Placename, South Scotland
The Ramsays are an ancient family of AngloNorman origin. The name was first recorded in Scotland by Simon de Ramsay, who travelled north with the Earl of Huntingdon in 1124. He was granted lands in Lothian and was the ancestor of the Ramsays of Dalhousie. The Ramsay family prospered and by the thirteenth century there were five major branches: Dalhousie, Auchterhouse, Banff, Forfar and Chatto. The Ramsay family undertook to maintain a Bruce on the throne of Scotland.