Lorimer was born on 30 May 1873 in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was the second of eight children born to Reverend Robert Lorimer and his wife. Her brother David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer was a lieutenant-colonel in the British Indian Army, a linguist and a political official in the British Indian government.Lorimer, Lieutenant-Colonel David Lockhart Robertson, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Archive Catalogue Her brothers Gordon and Bert worked in the civil administration in the Indian Political Service. Another, William, became Professor of Classics at St Andrews. Her sister Emilia became a notable poet, and her other sister Florence served as personal secretary to Aurel Stein at the British Museum. It was said that she could speak ancient Greek and Latin by the age of five.Wang, Helen. "Stein's Recording Angel: Miss F. M. G. Lorimer." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, 8, no. 2 (1998): 207-28. Accessed March 25, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25183518.
