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The name almost certainly derives from the
barony of the same name near Forfar, but it has also been suggested that it is a
corruption of Guthram, the name of a Scandanavian prince. The first of the name on record
in Scotland, one Squire Guthrie, appears in 1299. He had been sent to France to request
the return of William Wallace, who had retired there having resigned the guardianship of
Scotland. Squire Guthrie was evidently successful as Wallace did indeed return. The
Guthries of Guthrie received their estates by charter from David II (1329-71). In 1457 Sir
David Guthrie of Guthrie was Armour- Bearer to King James III and the Sheriff of Forfar;
he became Lord Treasurer of Scotland in 1461 and continued in this office until 1467 when
he was appointed Comptroller of the Exchequer. In 1468 he obtained a warrant under the
Great Seal to build Guthrie Castle near Friockheim in Angus, which remains standing to
this day. Although the Guthries of Guthrie were the main line of the family many
off-shoots existed, some of them mentioned in an old rhyme: "Guthrie o' Guthrie And
Guthrie o' Gaigie Guthrie o' Taybank An' Guthrie o' Craigie" An old tale without
substance gives an alternative derivation for the name. One of the early Scottish Kings
had taken shelter, along with two attendants, in a fisherman's hut. The King, knowing his
attendants would be hungry, asked the fisherman to prepare two fish for them, but the
fisherman offered to feed the king as well and "gut three"; and so, the legend
insists, the name stuck.
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