The Drummonds are an ancient family of Scotland, who may have come originally from Hungary and certainly came north as Anglo-Saxon exiles at the time of the Norman Conquest. They settled at Drymen (Stirling), which takes its name from the gaelic 'dromainn' meaning 'high ground'. The exiles were led by Edgar the Aetheling, accompanied by his two sisters, one of whom married Malcolm III and was later canonized as Saint Margaret.
The Drummonds became notable amongst the nobility. They were rewarded for their loyalty at Bannockburn (1314) with a grant of land in Perthshire. Annabella Drummond married into royalty in 1357, her husband becoming Robert III in 1390, and the family continued as staunch supporters of the house of Stewart.
One branch became the Earls, and then Dukes, of Perth, who were leading Jacobites and as such lost their estates after both the 1715 and 1745 risings. Their primary seat was Drummond Castle (Perth and Kinross), now home to the Drummond-Willoughby Earls of Ancaster. The Earldom of Perth was restored to the family in 1853 and the Earls remain Chiefs of the Clan. The family also includes the Viscounts Strathallan, the Drummond-Homes of Blair Drummond and the Drummonds of Hawthornden, notable amongst whom is the poet William Drummond (1585 - 1649).
Other notable members of the family include Lord Provost of Edinburgh, George Drummond (1687 - 1766) and surveyor and effective Governor of Ireland, Thomas Drummond (1797 - 1840).
