Legend says that the original Munro lands in Ross-shire were given as a reward for assisting King Malcolm II repel Viking invaders from Scandinavia in the 11th century. The Munros were well established in Easter Ross by the 14th century where they owed allegiance to the earls of Ross. The clan grew in stature and the chiefs of the clan became known as Munros of Foulis - Foulis Castle overlooks the Cromarty Firth, north-east of Dingwall. The clan also spread to the west coast to Loch Broom.
Members of the clan participated in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and Halidon Hill in 1333. In 1547 the chief and many of his men fell at the Battle of Pinkie. A number of Munros, including the clan chief, served in armies abroad, particularly in Sweden during the Thirty Years' War.
During the Civil War in the 17th century, a number of Munros fought at the Battle of Worcester in support of Charles II. Following this, Oliver Cromwell transported a number of Munros to New England where they flourished - James Monroe became fifth President of the USA.
Like a number of presbyterian clans (Campbells, MacKays and Grants) the Munros supported the Revolution which saw James VII deposed in 1689 and William and Mary accede to the throne. They did not support the Jacobite Uprisings by the Catholic Stewarts in 1715 and 1745. Colonel Sir Robert Mumro, the 6th Baronet, was killed at the Battle of Falkirk in 1746, fighting on the side of the government forces against Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Foulis Castle was badly damaged in the Jacobite Uprising of 1745 by the Mackenzies but has been restored.
The Munros of Foulis have a unique family tree which covers 1333 to 1746. In more recent times, General Sir Hector Munro of Novar was a soldier who gained fame in India in the 1770s and 1780s.Hector Hugh Munro wrote books under the pseudonym of "Saki" and was killed in the 1914-18 war. Mountaineer Sir Hugh Munro was responsible for creating the list of mountains in Scotland above 3,000 feet which are named after him - the Munros. Jay R Monroe, founder of the Monroe Calculating Machine Company of the USA was one of the first to put mass produced calculating machines on the market in 1919. His son presented one of these machines to the Clan Munro museum in 1982.
The Munro clan motto is "Dread God".
A number of clans are regarded as septs (sub-branch) of the Munro clan - Dingwall, Foulis, MacLulich, Vass and Wass.
Munro was the 70th most frequent surname at the General Register Office in 1995.
