Orrock

A name derived from lands in the parish of Burntisland in Fife. Symon de Oroc witnessed a deed of lands in favour of Dunfermline Abbey in 1248. This Symon, or perhaps a son by the same name, gave the Abbot of Dunfermline the lands of Muyoch and Cnokduuy, parts of the lands of Oroc. Robert and Symon de Orroc appear in the Ragman Roll, submitting to Edward I of England in 1296. Anderson suggests that the name may refer to the rocky nature of that part of the coast of Fife where the family held its lands. The arms, which include three chess pieces known as rooks, are clearly canting, or punning, on the name. The lands of Oroc in Fife passed to the Bethunes, but the name arises again in Aberdeenshire; Black states this is due to the Fife family’s naming new lands in Aberdeen in memory of those lost in Fife.