Ulva came into the possession of the Clan MacQuarrie (an anglicised version of the surname "MacGuaire") family over a thousand years ago, and they controlled it until the mid-19th century. The name "MacGuaire" is also anglicised as "McGuire" in Ireland. The English version has many variants, for examples, a 16th-century clan chief was Donn-slèibhe MacGuaire, possibly the ancestor of the Livingstone (MacDhùn-lèibhe) family. MacKenzie mentions that his name was anglicised in the following widely differing versions - "Dunslavie McVoirich" (either "MacMhuirich" (which becomes "Currie" or "MacPherson") or "MacMhurchaidh"), "Dulleis MacKwiddy", "Dwnsleif MacKcurra" and "Dwnsleyf MaKwra". "Dunslav" was recorded as a forename in Ulva in 1693 as well.