The name Straloch comes from Strath loch, black strath: loch is an adjective in old gaelic, meaning black, which occurs in place names. The earliest historical record of Straloch is in a charter, now missing, granted to Henry Cheyne by King David II in 1348 confirming his possession of the lands. The Cheynes owned Straloch for over 250 years.
In 1500AD they sold it to a member of the Gordon family of Pitlurg, one of the older and most distinguished branches of the noble house of Huntly. John was the first Gordon laird; he was succeeded by his brother, Robert, sometimes known as the Great Straloch because of his fame as a cartographer and historian. Robert died in 1661 aged 80 leaving 11 sons and 6 daughters. He was perhaps surprisingly survived by his wife Catherine, daughter of Alexander Irvine, of Lenturk, the eldest cadet branch of the Irvines of Drum.
The Gordon family sold the lands of Straloch in 1758 to John Ramsey a merchant who had traded with Russia and Sweden. One of his first acts was to demolish the mansion house and built the existing mansion on the same site. Unfortunately no record of the old house has survived although the remains of its foundations can be seen in the Court of Straloch. The only additions to the house as we know it in the present day are the Bathroom Tower in the North Court, constructed in 1898, and the Billiard Room on the East front built in 1907 by Marshall Mackenzie.