An English and Scottish surname, the Ramsey family name comes from the Old English terms of ‘hramsa’ and ‘eg’ which refer to wild garlic and island or a person who comes from an island which grows garlic. It can also refer to low-lying land.

A spelling variation for Ramsey is Ramsay .

In England the early Ramsey families were in Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire in England and many later lived in Scotland. In Scotland the Ramsey families are concentrated in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Angus.

In England the Ramsey surname is in the northern region, primarily in Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, Lancashire and then south to Essex, Suffolk and the city of London.
The states of Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri and California have many Ramsey families within the United States.

Famous: Anne Ramsey (actress), Frank P. Ramsey (mathematician who developed the Ramsey Theory), Patrick Ramsey (professional football player), William Ramsey (14th century English architect), Robert Ramsey (music composer from England), Norman F. Ramsey (well-known physicist), Bill Ramsey (professional baseball player) and Logan Ramsey (actor).