The surname is of territorial origin, from the ancient lands of the same name in Kincardineshire, Duncan, son and heir of Hugh of Swinton of Berwickshire received the lands of Arbuthnott in Kincardineshire by marriage to the daughter of Osbert Olifard, known as 'The Crusader', some time during the reign of William the Lion. and adopted the name. These lands had been granted to Olifard by William the Lion around 1175, almost certainly as a knight's fee.

In early documents it is referred to as 'Aberbothenoth', and this has sometimes been translated as the 'mouth of the stream below the noble house'. This land has been in the hands of the same noble family for more than twenty-four generations, and has passed to the present Viscount of Arbuthnott. Arbuthnott House is situated 8 miles south-west of Stonehaven .The name is found in quantity around Peterhead, Gramnian. and Adam Arbuthnot. a merchant in that town, bequeathed the local museum.

Another Hugh, 'Le Blond', named presumably for his fair hair, was Laird of Arbuthnott around 1282. He appears in a charter of that year, bestowing lands upon the Monastery of Arbroath for 'the safety of his soul'.

Philip de Arbuthnott is the first of the name to be described in a charter as 'dominus ejusdem', or 'of that ilk', in 1355. His son, Hugh Arbuthnott was implicated in the murder of John Melville of Glenbervie, sheriff of the Mearns, around 1420. According to the traditional story, Sheriff Melville had made himself extremely unpopular with the local lairds by too strict an adherence to his jurisdiction. The Duke of Albany, who was at the time Regent of Scotland during the captivity of James I in England, is said to have become tired of endless complaints against Melville and exclaimed, 'sorrow gin that sheriff were sodden and supped in broo'. This was taken by the disgruntled lairds as a signal to kill the sheriff. The Lairds of Mathers, Arbuthnott, Pitarrow and Halkerton invited Melville to a hunting party in the Forest of Garvock. The unsuspecting sheriff was lured to a prearranged spot where he was killed by throwing him into a cauldron of boiling water. After he was truly 'sodden', each of the conspirators took a spoonful of the murderous brew, he was later pardoned for his part in the affair.

The family has a rich history of public service which continues to this day, many stories such as those above are to be found in the families long history