The name "McMurtrie" is said to come from the Gaelic name "Muircheartach". This originally was a boy's first name, but gradually came to be used as a last name. "Muir" means "sea" and "cheartach" means "ruler"; so, McMurtrie seems to be, liberally translated, "son of a sea ruler" or "son of a navigator".
Spelling of the Name
There are many spellings of the name. McMurtry is by far the most common in the USA and Canada and McMurtrie is the most common in the rest of the world. The spelling McMurtrey and McMurtray developed in the Southern United States where they are seen almost as often as McMurtrie. The spelling MacMurtrie is used by a few families who changed Mc to Mac because they thought it sounded more Scottish.
Many people have asked whether McM. is Scottish or Irish. The answer is that McMurtry is the spelling most often used by Irish families and McMurtrie is the spelling most often used by Scottish families. In America, the McMurtry, McMurtrey, McMurtray, and McMurtery spellings are used by descendants of individuals thought to have come from Northern Ireland. However, in one of these families that came to New Jersey in 1735, one branch used McMurtry and the other two branches used McMurtrie.
In 1538, a Robert Makmurtre is listed as occupier of the farm of Balleballoch in Barr Parish, Ayrshire, Scotland. (Balleballoch is Gaelic for "the farm in the pass".) Many years later appears the first use of the modern spelling of the name in the 1592 will of Thomas McMurtrie of Culzean (Kirkoswald Parish, Ayrshire).
By the time regular record keeping began in the 1600s, most McMurtries seem to have been living not far from the coast of SW Ayrshire in the parishes of Kirkmichael, Kirkoswald, Maybole, Straiton, Barr, Dailly, and Girvan.