Ruthven Family History

Scottish: habitational name traditionally pronounced ‘Ri-ven’ from Ruthven by Huntingtower (Perthshire); also possibly from Ruthven (Angus) and various other places of that name throughout Scotland named either with Gaelic ruadh ‘red’ + mhaighin ‘place’ or with a cognate of Welsh rhudd faen ‘red stone’. The oldest family of this name the lords of the barony of Ruthven by Perth were descended from Thor son of Swain lord of Tranent in Lothian and first sheriff of Edinburgh on record in the mid 12th century.

The family eventually gained the title of Earl of Gowrie but because of what became known as ‘the Gowrie Conspiracy’ the title was forfeited and from 1600 to 1641 the surname itself was proscribed. The title was later restored to the family and the present Earl of Gowrie bears the surname Ruthven.