The name of Ogilvie derives from Gilbert, one of the descendants of the ancient Earls of Angus. The name Ogilvie derives from the old British 'ocelfa' or 'high plain'.

The Ogilvie lands are to be found in Angus, with the Ogilvie family being made hereditary sheriffs of Angus in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In the 15th century the tower of Airlie was built, the castle of the chief of the Ogilvies. The 'Bonnie Hoose o' Airlie' was destroyed in 1640 by the Campbells and this tragic incident is described in a ballad of the period.