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What does it mean when a tartan is Restricted?
Most tartans can be worn by anyone. Historic tartans are long out of copyright and, in any case, the people who created them took a socially-inclusive and enlightened view that anyone wishing to belong to their extended family would be welcomed in. This is the basis of the tradition of clan Septs. Thus the true (More...)Tartan Searches - Direct Matches
If you search our tartan finder for a name, the first results to be displayed will be any direct matches for that name in our database. This could be a match for the main Family Name. e.g. when you search for “brown” the first tartans returned with have names like “Brown Family” or “Brown Heather” (More...)Tartan Searches - Historically Related
Traditionally, tartans have been worn not just by people sharing the same family name, but also by many other families living in the same area or who gave allegiance to the same clan chief or other authority. To help you identify tartans your family might historically have worn, we will often list a choice of names (More...) When you search for a name that does not appear with that exact spelling in our database, but there is another name with a very similar spelling, we will list this as a Near Miss. In many cases this will in effect be the same name. Remember that surnames can be spelled in a huge variety of ways. (More...)
Tartan Searches - Closest Match
If the name you have searched for does not appear anywhere in our database, and there is no name with just a letter or two different, we will list the closest matches that do appear in our lists. This may sometimes help if your name is related but spelled quite differently. It is important to remember that (More...) Weaving looms are almost always made in one of two widths: single width (about 30″ or 70cm) or double width (about 60″ or 1.4m). Single width of course costs about half the price of double width! In most cases the width will not matter to you. Our systems are designed to price products using the correct (More...)
We offer two main types of material to order: (1) Off-the-Shelf fabrics that are in production at one of the major weaving mills, and that we can source for you normally within a few days; and (2) Woven-to-Order fabrics, including wools and silks, that we can produce for you affordably at our own small mill (More...)
Most tartans are associated with a different nationality. So we classify them by locality, to help you find ones appropriate to your own roots. To be shown only your local tartans, select this option in the Advanced Search of our Tartan Finder. (This can be combined with other filters too.) Not surprisingly most are Scottish. But (More...)
Fabrics are produced at a wide range of prices. For your convenience, we group these into three main price bands. To limit your choices to one price band only, select that option in the Advanced Search area of our Tartan Finder. (This can be combined with other filters.) The Luxury Range includes our woven to order (More...)
To help you find the fabric you want, we group all our materials by pattern type. The choices are Tartan (e.g. Abercrombie), Tweed (e.g. Checked tweed or purple tweed), and Solid Colour (e.g. Green or Saffron), and Print (e.g. camouflage). If you wish to see only one of these, select that choice in the ‘Advanced Search‘ (More...)
Most of our fabrics are described both with their ‘actual’ weight (e.g. 13oz) and their weight category (e.g. medium weight). These will be suitable for different purposes. If in doubt, just ask us. The weight categories are in five bands: Heavy Weight (16-19oz); Medium Weight (11-15oz); Light Weight (9-10oz); Spring Weight (6-8oz); and Feather Weight (under (More...)
Tartan Name: Materials or Fabrics
A tartan can be woven in any number of materials. And how it will look and feel of course differs according to the fabric. It is important to choose the right material according to how you intend to use it. Good quality tartan is most commonly woven in pure new wool. Unless you are making a (More...)Tartan Name: Colourways or Shades
You will notice that many tartan setts are described with terms like ‘Modern’, ‘Ancient’, ‘Weathered’, or ‘Muted’. These can make the tartan look quite different. But in fact ‘Buchanan Modern‘ and ‘Buchanan Ancient‘ are exactly the same tartan, simply woven with alternative hues to create a differently pleasing visual effect. It is purely an aesthetic (More...) Any tartan Family Name can have a number of different Setts (or patterns) sometimes associated with different occasions (though there is no rule limiting their wear to these occasions!). For example, many clans have a ‘Hunting‘ tartan and a ‘Dress‘ tartan in addition to their general clan tartan. But there are many more such variants, sometimes (More...)
The first way in which we organise and sub-divide our huge choice of tartans is by Family Name. But note that the word ‘family’ here could refer to almost any form of grouping. This will often be literally a family surname (or clan) such as Macdonald or Stewart. But it could equally be a company or organisation (More...)
How can I find real Scottish cashmere?
We offer a wide range of cashmere goods, for women, men, children, and the home. You may find our Introduction Page helpful, as a guide to the sorts of goods we offer. Otherwise, use the main Site Search at the top of every page, where searching for ‘cashmere’ will give you a list of products, categorised by department. And (More...)Why do you offer garments by different kiltmakers?
We aim to offer the finest range of kilts in the world, which is why we let you choose from several brands. All our kiltmakers are specialists producing only excellent quality garments; we never supply the cheaper imported copies sold by competitors. We have four main kilt ranges: 1. Manley Richardson Manley Richardson (web site) is internationally recognised as producers (More...)What is tartan? What makes it unique?
A tartan (or ‘plaid’) is a simple criss-cross coloured pattern, which is normally woven. Each tartan is defined by its “sett“, a sequence of coloured lines called its “thread count“. A tartan’s thread count is normally (but not always) mirrored… i.e. 12 yellow, 16 red, 10 blue - 10 blue, 16 red, 12 yellow. And the same sequence (More...)What is the Scottish Tartans Authority?
The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA) holds the world’s largest archive of recorded tartan patterns. Scotweb is honoured to be authorised to give you access to the full STA collection, which we have combined with our own unrivalled database of weaver-produced tartan fabrics. Together these offer you a unique facility to reliably research your historic tartans, and then find materials (More...) Origins and history Anderson is an English and Scottish patronymic surname, meaning ’son of Andrew‘. In this form, it is more common in the Lowlands, but it is widespread in Scotland in different forms. In the Highlands, it was rendered as MacAndrew, of medieval Scottish origin. Both names share the same Scottish Gaelic derivation of ‘Gilleaindreas’ (More...)
History Origin of name From the town of Anstruther, which was adopted as a familial name. Origins of the Clan Alexander I of Scotland granted the lands of Anstruther to William de Candela in the early 12th century. There are a number of suggested origins for William but research points to the Normans in Italy. It is known that (More...)
History Coat of Arms The Viscount of Arbuthnott, Chief of Clan Arbuthnott Origin of name From the place name Aberbothenoth, which lies on a narrow peninsula on the north side of the river Bervie. On the north east side the land falls steeply down to the burn, once called Buthenot, and on the south side it slopes more (More...)
History The Armstrong name has a mythological origin, in that it is said their heroic progenitor, Fairbairn, saved his king of Scotland in battle, and not from a wild beast as is the case with another Border clan - the Turnbulls. It is said that, dressed in full armour, he lifted the king onto his own (More...)
Clan Arthur, (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Artair), is a highland Scottish clan that once held lands on the shores of Loch Awe opposite Inishail. The clan has been described as one of the oldest clans in Argyll. Clan Arthur and Clan Campbell share a common origin, and at one point the MacArthurs challenged the seniority of (More...)
Origins of Name The Bannerman name is said to have originated in the privilege of carrying the king’s banner in wartime, an honour the Bannermans had from approximately the 11th through the 13th century. As a consequence of this role, the Bannermans held the rank of knights banneret, a title conferred on people of particular military (More...)
Origins of the clan Since the eighteenth century, Barclay historians, noted for their low level in medieval scholarship, have assumed the Scottish family Barclay (de Berchelai) is a branch of one of the two Anglo-Norman families of de Berkeley of Berkeley in Gloucestershire, without any evidence which would link the Scottish and English families. A more plausible (More...)
Origins of the Clan The origins of the name “Borthwick” are territorial. The name seems likely to have been assumed from Borthwick Water in Roxburghshire. It is traditionally held that the first of the noble house was Andreas, who accompanied the Saxon Edgar Ætheling and his sister, Saint Margaret of Scotland, to Scotland in 1067. 15th Century Around 1410 (More...)
Origins of the Clan The Clan Boswell are accepted as of Norman or French origin, Black offers two derivations of the name – either from a vill, or manor, near Yvetot in Normandy, or from Beuzevill near Bolbec. The ‘sieur’, or Lord de Bosville, is said to have been one of the Norman commanders at the (More...)
Origins of the clan There are two main theories on the origin of the name. The first asserts that name is descriptive, deriving from the Gaelic ‘buidhe’, meaning ‘fair’ or ‘blonde’. The ‘fair’ man in question is said to have been Robert, nephew of Walter Fitzalan, 1st High Steward of Scotland. The fess-chequey (see Heraldry) supports (More...)
Origins There is little doubt that the de Beauvilles (or de Boyville) came to Britain following the Norman conquest of 1066. They settled in Wales and Cumberland initially, though some of the Welsh line later travelled to Ireland and are the ancestors of the Earls of Cork and Shannon. In 1124 Hugh de Morvile was granted the (More...)
Early Clan History origins of the clan The origins of the Brodie clan are mysterious. Much of the early Brodie records were destroyed when Clan Gordon pillaged and burnt Brodie Castle in 1645. It is known that the Brodies were always about since records began. From this it has been presumed that the Brodies are ancient, probably (More...)
Origins of the Name As well as the name being Scottish, Broun or Brown is also common name in Old English charters (as Brun) from an adjective meaning brown or dark red. It also occurs in Old High German as Brunn and is the source of the French surname le Brun. A family of this name (More...)
History The name Bruce comes from the French ‘de Brus’ or ‘de Bruis’, what is now Brix between Cherbourg and Valognes in Normandy. The first Robert de Brus in Great Britain accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066 and died, it is believed, around 1094. However, it was his son, also Robert de Brus (known as Robert le (More...)
Origins of the Clan The Clan names derives from the district of Buchan. This in turn may have taken its name from ‘bwch’, a word meaning cow in the Brythonic language. The first recorded Buchan was Ricardus de Buchan, clerk of the bishopric of Aberdeen around 1207 and in 1281 William de Buchan is recorded as (More...)
Clan Buchanan (Pronounced B-eww-cannon in North America and Buck-annon in Europe and Australia) is an Armigerous Scottish clan whose origins are said to lie in the 1225 grant of lands on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to clergyman Sir Absalon of Buchanan by the Earl of Lennox. Origins of the Clan Clan Buchanan has occupied the (More...)
History Origins of the name There is still debate over the origin of the name Burnett. The Saxon Burford family held lands in Bedfordshire prior to 1066. This name derives from the Saxon ‘beornheard’ meaning ‘bear hand’ often translated as ‘brave warrior’. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the name derives from Burnet, a French name recorded (More...)
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches such as Erracht, Clunes, Glen Nevis, and Fassifern. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands is the mountain Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. Origin of the clan The origins (More...)
Clan Campbell of Cawdor is a highland Scottish clan. While the clan is recognised by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, the clan does not have a clan chief recognised by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. Also, because the clan does not have a clan chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms (More...)
Origins of the clan The origins of Clan Campbell are uncertain. The earliest attested Campbell is Gilleasbaig of Menstrie (floruit 1260s), father of Cailean Mór, from whom the chiefs of the clan are thought to have taken their style MacCailean Mór. The byname kambel is recorded at this time. Fanciful reconstructions derive it from the French (More...)
Origins of the Clan The name Carmichael originally comes from lands in Lanarkshire which were granted to Sir James Douglas of Clan Douglas in 1321 and by his nephew to Sir John Carmichael between 1374 and 1384.d The name is also used to anglicise MacIlleMhicheil Anglo-Scottish border conflicts The Carmichaels were strong supporters of the Clan Douglas during their (More...)
History Origins of the Clan The Carnegies took their name from the area around Carmyllie, Angus. The family who adopted this name however, were originally known under an earlier adopted placename of Balinhard which is also in Angus. The Balinhards can be found in records from 1230. In 1358 John of Balinhard was granted the lands and barony (More...)
Origins of the Clan As well as being a surname Cathcart is a Scottish town just south of Glasgow. There is some speculation as to the origin of the name Cathcart. Some believe it is ancient Celtic meaning, “Fort on the River Cart”, as that river flows right past the ancient castle. Others believe it means, (More...)
Origins of the Name Chartres, the French city famed for its cathedral, is claimed as the origin of this name. William, a son of the Lord of Chartres, is said to have come to England with the Norman Conquest, and his son or grandson came north to Scotland with the retinue of David I. One of (More...)
Origin of name The origin of the name Chattan is disputed. There are three main theories The name derives from the Catti, a tribe of Gauls, driven out by the advancing Romans. The name is taken from Cait, an ancient name for the present counties of Caithness and Sutherland. The clan derives its name from Gillchattan Mor, baillie of (More...)
Origins of the Clan The early Scottish Chisholms were not to be found in the Highlands, but owned land near the English border. In 1296, in the Ragman Rolls, John de Chesolm (Chesehelm) was described as “of the county of Berwick” and Richard de Chesolm (Chesehelm) as “of the county of Roxburgh“, while in 1335 Alexander (More...)
Origins of the Name The name Cochrane is believed to originate from the lands of Coueran, Cochrane near Paisley in Renfrewshire.It is also believed that some people of the name MacEacherns changed their name to Cochrane when they came to the Scottish Lowlands to conceal their identity. Another theory is that after fighting so ferociously in (More...)
Origins of the Clan In the thirteenth century Maol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox granted the lands of Colquhoun, located in Dunbartonshire, to Humphry de Kilpatrick. Humphry’s son, Ingelram de Colquhoun, who lived in the reign of Alexander III, was the first person recorded as taking Colquhoun as a surname. Around 1368, Luss, on Loch Lomond, was (More...)
Origins of the Clan The name Colville is believed to be of ancient Norman origin. It is believed to be derived from the town of Colleville -Sur-Mur in Normandy, France. The word “Col” meaning dark and swarthy and the word “Ville” meaning Village or “Castle on the Hill”. Colville might also have come from the French word (More...)
History Origins of the clan The name Cranstoun comes from the Barony of Cranstoun in Midlothian. The family owned lands in the counties of Edinburgh and Roxburgh. The first known person of the Cranstoun family was Elfric de Cranstoun who was a witness to a charter by William the Lion in Holyrood in about 1170. Around that time (More...)
Clan Crawford is an ancient lowland House recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, which is the heraldic authority of Scotland, as an armigerous clan. More properly a “House” as most of the lowland families were titled, Clan Crawford is considered armigerous because Crawfords are matriculated with the Lyon Court as armigers.The clan is (More...)
Clan History The lands of Kreitton formed one of the earliest baronies around Edinburgh and are mentioned in charters of the early 12th century. Early Crichtons Thurstan de Cechtune was a witness to the foundation of the Holyrood Abbey by King David I of Scotland in 1128. Thomas de Crichton swore fealty to King Edward I of England (More...)
History Origin of the name The origin of the surname Comyn and Cumming (in relation to this clan) is disputed. It is thought that the name may be derived from the a Celtic personal name derived from the element cam (meaning “bent” or “crooked”. These names were relatively frequent in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire in the twelfth (More...)
History Origins of the clan Traditionally, in 1059, King Malcolm rewarded Malcolm, son of Friskin with the Thanedom of Cunninghame. The first known Cunningham was Warnebald Cunningham and then his son Robertus Cunningham. Warnebald was granted the lands of Cunninghame by Hugh de Morville in around 1115. Robertus received the lands of Cunningham between the years 1160 and (More...)
Origins of the Name The name darroch is said to derive from the Gaelic word ‘Macdara’ which meant “son of oak”. The Darrochs settled around Stirling. and appear to derive their name from Darroch near Falkirk, where there once may have been an Oak grove. 15th to 17th century John Darroch was baille of Stirling in 1406. John (More...)
History When the power of the Comyns began to wane in Badenoch, Donald Dubh of Invernahaven, Chief of Davidsons, having married the daughter of Angus, 6th of MacKintosh, sought the protection of William, 7th of MacKintosh, before 1350, and Clan Davidson became associated with the Chattan Confederation. In the 18th century we find important families like the (More...)
History Dewars were also recorded as Septs of Clan Menzies and Clan MacNab. Origins of the Clan The infamous Ragman Rolls includes the record of the first known people by the name Dewar where Thomas and Piers de Deware both having swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The name is an anglicisation of “Deòrach” which originally means (More...)
Clan Douglas, also referred to as the House of Douglas, is an ancient family from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an Armigerous clan. Clan crest of Clan Douglas The (More...)
Origins of the Clan Clan traditions credit the founder of the clan as Maurice of Hungary, a Hungarian prince descended from Arpad, who is said to have accompanied Edgar Ætheling, heir to the English throne, and his sister Saint Margaret of Scotland, when they sailed there in 1066. This disregards accepted history that Edgar and Margaret (More...)
Origins of the Clan The Clan Dunbar descends from Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria, grandson of Crínán of Dunkeld and Seneschal of the Isles and nephew to King Duncan I of Scotland who became Earl of Northumberland after his father. In 1072 this title was deprived from him by William the Conqueror and he fled back to (More...)
Clan Dundas is the name given to one of Scotland’s most historically important families. Once widely regarded as one of the most noble in the British Empire. The fortunes of the family are now almost lost, with its lands sold to the state, its castles reclaimed and its stately homes either bought by the state, (More...)
Origins There is a persistent myth that the origin of the name Durie is from the French ‘Du Roi’ but there is no evidence for this. Rather, a younger son of the Earls of Strathearn was granted the existing lands of Durie (from the Gaelic for a small or black stream) and took the name. Another (More...)
Origins of the name The name Eliott is believed to derive from the village of Eliot in Angus although the Old English form of Elwold also appears in Scotland. Little is known of the early history of Clan Eliott because few records survive. This could be because the Eliott’s Castle Stobs was burned down in 1712. Legend (More...)
Origins of the Name The surname Elphinstone is derived from the territory of Elphinstone in the parish of Tranent, meaning ‘of Elphinstone.’ The original people of this name are believed to have been known as ‘de Erth’. Later still they were known as ‘Elfinstun’. The people of the Clan Elphinstone are believed to have originated from (More...)
Origins of the Name Erskine is an area to the south of the River Clyde and ten miles to the west of Glasgow. The name is believed to be ancient or Old British for green rising ground. In the 13th century during the reign of King Alexander II of Scotland the first known person of the (More...)
Origins of the Clan Farquhar - from the Gaelic ‘fear’ and ‘char’ meaning ‘dear one’. In modern Scottish Gaelic, the surname is writtern “MacFhearchair”. The name derives its name from Farquhar Shaw, 4th son of Alexander “Ciar” Mackintosh of Rothiemurchus, 5th Chief of the Clan Shaw, who settled in the Braes of Mar, the source of the (More...)
History of the clan Before the 18th century, at least five groups of Fergusons possessed lands and lived in the style of a clan under their respective chiefs in Argyll, Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, Galloway, and Carrick. Today, the Kilkerran Fergusons in Ayrshire and the family of Ferguson of Baledmund and the Fergusons of Balquhidder, both in Perthshire, (More...)
Clan Forrester is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan is an armigerous clan, and has no position under Scots law, because there is no chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. History Origins of the Clan It is believed that the Clan Forrester is of Celtic origin. The founder of the clan is believed to be (More...)
Origins of the Clan The first recorded person of the name was William de Firsith on the Ragman Roll in Berwick on the 28th August 1296. Much of the records of Clan Forsyth were destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in the Civil War, therefore little is known. Wars of Scottish Independence In the 14th century during the Wars of (More...)
Clan Fraser of Lovat is a Highland Scottish clan and is a branch of the Clan Fraser. The Frasers of Lovat are descendants from a younger brother of Sir Alexander Fraser. It is Sir Alexander Fraser descendants whom are the chief line of the Fraser clan. The current chief of the clan is Simon Fraser, (More...)
Clan Fraser (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Frisealach, French: Clan Frasier) is a Scottish clan of French origin. The Clan has been strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan’s founder gained lands there in the 13th century. Since its founding, the Clan has dominated local politics and been active in every major military (More...)
Origin of the clan The surname Galbraith means Foreign Briton. The surname denoted the ethnic differences between the Gaels who migrated to Scotland in about the fifth century and the native Welsh speaking Britons of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. The Strathclyde Britons remained a distinct ethnic group from the Highland Gaels and Lowland Angles until the (More...)
Origins of the Clan There are several theories as to the origin of the name Gayre. The first is that it is a name of Celtic origin. However it is now believed that the name hails from Cornwall in the south of England, where the de Ke Kayres were lords of many manors. The name as (More...)
History Origins of the clan The origin of the Gordon clan in Scotland was not Gaelic. The Gordon clan is originally from Normandy, where their ancestors are said to have had large possessions. From the great antiquity of the race, many fabulous accounts have been given of the descent of the Gordons. Some derive them from a (More...)
History Origins of the Clan The early history of the Grahams of Scotland remains complex. Legend suggests that the Roman Antonine Wall, which forged the divide between Roman Britannia and the unconquered highlands, was broken by Graeme (sic.), a great Caledonian chief, as he drove the Roman legions from his lands. This, unfortunately, might never be proven, (More...)
Clan Grant is a Highland Scottish clan which inhabited land in Northern Scotland since 1316, although the clan is known to have existed farther back than that. During the various times of personal financial hardship in Scotland (particularly in the aftermath of the Jacobite rebellions) many Grants moved elsewhere, mostly across the former British Empire (More...)
Clan Gregor, or Clan MacGregor, is a Highland Scottish clan. Outlawed for nearly two hundred years after losing their lands in a long power struggle with the Clan Campbell, the Clan Gregor claims descent from Constantin and wife and cousin Malvina, first son of Doungallas and wife Spontana (daughter of a High King of Ireland) (More...)
Clan Grierson is a lowland Scottish clan. The surname Grierson is a patronymic form of the medieval Scottish personal name Grier which is a form of the personal name Gregory. It has been speculated by some that they may descend from the same line as Clan Gregor, however this is refuted by others. Gilbrid MacGregor was (More...)
Clan Gunn is a Scottish clan associated with northeastern Scotland, including Caithness and Sutherland as well as the Orkney Islands.The clan’s origins stretch over the sea to Norway, and the Clan Gunn themselves claim descent from the legendary Sweyn Asleifsson, the so-called ‘Ultimate Viking’, the progenitor of the clan, and through his grandson Gunni, considered (More...)
Clan History Origins of the Name The name Guthrie almost certainly derives from the barony of the same name near Forfar. Other theories are that it is a corruption of Guthrum, which was the name of a Scandinavian Prince. Wars of Scottish Independence The first of the name Guthrie on record in Scotland was one Squire Guthrie in 1303 (More...)
Origins The first known person of the name was Petrus de Haga, who is mentioned in documents from 1162. However, the Clan Haig are traditionally said to descend from Druskine, the King of Picts, who was killed at the Battle of Camelon by Kenneth, the King of Scots, in 839. His son, Hago, escaped to Norway and (More...)
Origins of the Clan It is believed that the name ‘Haldane’ originates from a phrase meaning ‘Half-Dane’. It is an ancient Scottish name dating back to around the 12th century with the manor of Haldane being granted to the family around this time by William the Lion. A cadet branch of the family are reported to (More...)
The House of Hamilton is a Scottish family who historically held broad territories throughout central and southern Scotland, particularly Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and the Lothians. The Hamiltons were a lowland family, and were never organised as a clan in the Highland, Gaelic sense. However, modern usage tends to ascribe clan status to all Scottish families. The family (More...)
Origins of the Clan The name Hannay may have originally been spelt Ahannay, possibaly deriving from the Gaelic word ‘O’Hannaidh’ or ‘Ap Shenaeigh’. The family can betraced back to Galloway in South-West Scotland. The name ‘Gillbert de Hannethe’ appears on the Ragman Rolls of 1296, submitting to King Edward I of England. The Hannay’s lands of (More...)
Origin of the name The family name is derived from that of several villages called La Haye in the Cotentin peninsula of Normandy, France. The word, haye comes from haia, a hedge, which in modern French is haie. It can also mean stockade, but it may have been used here because this part of Normandy is (More...)
Origins of the Clan Clann Eanruig (pronounced KLAHN YAHN-reegk) is the Gàidhlig (Scots Gaelic) name for the Scottish clan known as “the Hendersons” in English. The words “Scot,” “Scots” (not scotch), “Scottish,” and “Scotland” derive from the Latin word “Scotus” meaning a Celtic inhabitant of Hibernia (Ireland) at the time of the Roman occupation of southern (More...)
The Homes (pronounced and sometimes spelt Hume) are a Scottish family. They were a powerful force in medieval Lothian and the Borders. The chief of the name is David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home. Origins of the Clan The origins of the clan are a matter of historical debate. Some sources maintain that William of Home (alive (More...)
Origins of the Clan Hope is a native Scottish name. However in middle English it means ’small valley’. Another suggestion is that it derives from ‘oublon’, which is French for ‘hop’ and could be from the family de H’oublons of Picardy. The Clan Hope was a Scottish boarder family and their name is amongst those found on (More...)
History Origins of the Clan The name is territorial in origin, derived from an old barony of the name in Lanarkshire. Hugh de Padinan, who is believed to have lived in the twelfth century, was granted the lands of Kilpeter. By about the middle of the fourteenth century, these lands had become known as Huston. Sir Finlay (More...)
Clan Hunter (Gaelic: “Clann an t-Sealgair”) is a Scottish clan which has its seat at Hunterston in Ayrshire. It has historical connections with both the ‘Highlands’ and ‘Lowlands’ of Scotland due to several centuries of operation in some of the formerly Gaelic speaking Scottish Islands including Arran, Bute and the Cumbraes where the Hunters also (More...)
Origins of the clan The names Erewine and Erwinne are Old English forenames and have been recorded as such since the 12th century. However as a surname it is of territorial origins from one of two places of the same name. Firstly from Irving, an old parish in Dumfriesshire and from Irvine in Ayrshire. It is (More...)
Origins of the clan The Clan Jardine is believed to be of French origin. The French word jardin means garden or orchard and it is presumed that the Jardine family originally came from France. Members of the Jardine family travelled with William during the Norman conquest of England in 1066. However records of the name Jardine (More...)
Origin of the name Johnstone comes from “John’s toun”, not “John’s stone” or John’s son.” Historically, “Johnston” has been an alternate spelling of the surname. The first known person of this name was John of Johnstone, who in 1174 gave his name to the lands of Annandale in Dumfrieshire which he had been granted. His son, (More...)
Origins of the Name A Scottish warrior slew the Danish General Camus at the Battle of Barrie in 1010 for which King Máel Coluim II of Scotland dipped three fingers into the blood of the slain and drew them down the shield of the warrior. Thereafter the warrior was named Marbhachir Chamius or Camus Slayer. Ever (More...)
Origins of the name There are two origins of the Kennedy surname: one Scottish and the other Irish. The most commonly known Kennedy family is the Irish one made famous by the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy, whose ancestors came from County Wexford. Irish Kennedy The Irish Kennedys takes their name from Kennedy, the nephew of High-King (More...)
History Origins of the Name The origins of the name Kerr are disputed as being either: Caer (British for “fort”) Ciar (Scottish Gaelic for “dusky”) Ceàrr (Scottish Gaelic for “left handed” - carrie handit in Lowland Scots) Mac Ghiolla Cheara (Irish language) Kjrr (Old Norse for “marsh dweller”) Asked how to say his name, Admiral Mark Kerr told (More...)
History The Kincaid surname is of territorial origin being taken from the former lands of Kincaid in the Parish of Campsie, Stirlingshire, Scotland. The lands are located just north of Kirkintilloch, in the north-west angle formed by the River Kelvin and its tributary the Glazert. The topography of the area is hilly, being on the northern (More...)
Clan Kirkpatrick is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan is recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, however the clan does not currently have a chief so recognised. The clan takes its name from the church of Saint Patrick in the parish of Closeburn in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The first record of the clan is in (More...)
Clan Lamont is a Highland Scottish clan. Clan Lamont claim descent from Lauman who lived in Cowal in 1238. Tradition gives this Lauman a descent from an Irish prince named Anrothan O’Neill. Clan Lamont like several other clans, such as Clan MacEwen of Otter, Clan Maclachlan, Clan MacNeil of Barra, and the MacSweens, all claim (More...)
Origins There is more than one theory as to the origin of the name Leask. One is from the Anglo-Saxon word lisse which means happy. Another is that it comes from the Norse meaning of stirring fellow. Another is that it comes from Liscus which was the name of the chief of a tribe called the (More...)
Origins of the name The name Lennox in gaelic comes from the place of the same name. The clan name comes from the title of Earl of Lennox which commanded the vale of Leven between the 12th and 15th centuries. 15th century In 1424 the Clan Lennox was decimated and Iain Colquhoun of Luss of Clan Colquhoun took (More...)
Origins The family name comes from the Leslie lands of Aberdeenshire and was to become famous in Germany, Poland, France and Russia. A Hungarian (or more likely by onomastics and typical of the times as well as later Leslie history, a Kievan of Varangian origins) nobleman, named Bartholomew arrived in the retinue of Agatha, wife of (More...)
Origins of the Clan The Lindsays are descended from Danes who had come to England between the 6th and 9th centuries. After the Norman conquest of 1066 Baldric de Lindsay became a tenant under the Earl of Chester in England. In 1120 Sir Walter Lindsay was a member of the council of David, Earl of Huntingdon (More...)
Origins of the Clan The Clan Lockhart arrived in Scotland among the waves of Normans who arrived after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The Lockharts settled in Lanark and Ayrshire where the towns of Symington and Stevenson remain to mark the past influence of Simon and Steven Locard. The exact date when the lands (More...)
Clan Logan is a both a Highland and Lowland Scottish clan. The clan does not have a Chief recognised by Lord Lyon King of Arms, and therefore can be considered an Armigerous clan. Today, it is thought by some that Clan MacLennan is a variant of the Highland Logan Clan. History An early Logan tartan, which has (More...)
Origins of the clan The name Lumsden derives from the old manor of Lumsden in the parrish of Coldingham in Berwickshire. The earliest known recordings of the name appear between 1166 and 1182 when the brothers Gillem (William) and Cren de Lumsden witnessed a charter by Waldeve Earl of Dunbar to the Priory of Coldingham. The (More...)
Origin of the name Although Sir Iain Moncreiffe, perhaps the greatest herald genealogist, believed his family were of Celtic origin and descended from a younger son of the Lamonts, the generally accepted view is that they descended from a French family called de Leon, who came north with Edgar, son of Malcolm III, at the end (More...)
Origins Clan MacAlister is a branch of Clan Donald, and traces its descent from Alasdair Mor, son of Domhnall mac Raghnaill who was grandson of Somerled.Somerled is claimed as the ancestor of the MacAlisters, MacDonalds and MacDougalls. Gaelic tradition gave Somerled a Celtic descent in the male line, though a recent DNA study has shown that (More...)
The MacAulays of Lewis were sept or clan located on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. There is no connection between the MacAulays of Lewis and the Clan MacAulay who were centred in the Loch Lomond area, bordering the Scottish Highlands and Scottish Lowlands. Up until the turn of the seventeenth (More...)
MacAulay of Ullapool and Loch Broom
The MacAulays of Ullapool and Loch Broom were a minor sept or clan, located in the area of Loch Broom on the north-western coast of the Scottish Highlands. There is no connection between the MacAulays and the Clan MacAulay who were centred in the Loch Lomond area bordering the Highlands and Scottish Lowlands. Some historians (More...) Clan MacAulay is a Scottish clan. The clan was historically centred around the lands of Ardincaple, which are today consumed by the little village of Rhu and burgh of Helensburgh in Argyll and Bute. The MacAulays of Ardincaple were located mainly in the traditional county of Dunbartonshire, which straddles the “Highland Line” between the Scottish (More...)
Origins of the Clan There are several possible Gaelic origins for this name but the most likely is bheathain which means lively one. This could also have been renderd as Mac ic Bheatha which means MacBeth, a name which was very important in early Scottish history. When King Malcolm II of Scotland removed the MacBeth line (More...)
Origins of the Clan In Gaelic, Saint Columba’s name was Colm. MacCallum means ’son of Colm’. The ancient Kingdom of Dál Riata where the first Scots of Ireland settled was home to Columba and the ancestors of the MacCallums. Despite all this we should not see the two as relations in blood but interpret the name (More...)
Families of the name MacCulloch MacCulloch of Myreton 1. The MacCullochs of Myreton were a Lowland family who lived in southern Scotland overlooking Luce Bay near the Water of Luce. Unlike other MacCulloch families the MacCullochs of Myreton were not septs of another clan but owned their own territory and were seated at Cardoness Castle. Myreton is (More...)
Clan Macdonald of Clanranald is a Scottish clan. The clan is one of several branches of Clan Donald. The clan chief of Clan Macdonald of Clanranald is designated Captain of Clanranald. Both chief and clan are recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Origins of the clan Clan Macdonald of Clanranald descends from Raghnall (d.1207), son (More...)
Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, also known as Clan Ranald of Lochaber, is a Scottish Clan. History The MacDonalds of Keppoch are descended from Alistair Carrach Macdonald who was a younger son of Good John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, 6th chief of Clan Donald and his second wife Margaret Stewart, daughter of King Robert II of (More...)
The MacDonalds of Sleat are a branch of the Clan Donald or MacDonald. History Origins of the clan The Macdonalds of Sleat are descendants of Hugh MacDonald (d.1498) who was a younger son of Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, 3rd Lord of the Isles and 8th chief of Clan Donald. Hugh had ability and power and sat (More...)
Clan Donald is one of the largest Scottish clans. The MacDonald clan has many separate branches: Clan Donald Clan crest These are the Clan Donald branches with extant chiefs, including the main Clan Donald followed by their Gaelic patronymics: Lord Macdonald who is the High Chief of Clan Donald whose ancestor was the Lord of the Isles. (More...)
Clan MacDonell of Glengarry is a branch of Clan Donald taking its name from Glen Garry where the river Garry runs eastwards through Loch Garry to join the Great Glen about 16 miles (25 km) north of Fort William. The principal families descended from the house of Glengarry were the McDonells of Barrisdale, in Knoydart, (More...)
Origins of the clan Clan MacDougall is a Scottish clan traditionally associated with the lands of Argyll and Lorn in Scotland. Like the Clan Donald or MacDonald and all of its MacDonald branches, the MacDougalls are also descended from the King Somerled. The clan takes its name from Dougall, a son of Somerled, who, after his (More...)
Clan Macdowall is a Scottish clan. The clan claims to descend from the senior descendants in the male line of the princely house of Fergus, first of the ancient Lords of Galloway. The main branches of the family include the MacDowalls of Garthland, the Makdougals of Makerston, the MacDoualls of Logan, the MacDoualls of Freugh, (More...)
Clan MacDuff is a Scottish armigerous clan, which is registered with Lyon Court, though currently without a chief. Moncreiffe wrote that the Clan MacDuff was the premier clan among the Scottish Gaels. The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the Earls of Fife. Today the Earls of Wemyss are thought to be the direct descendants (More...)
Clan MacEwen is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan does not have a chief recognized by Lord Lyon King of Arms and as such the clan can be considered an Armigerous clan. The principle clan with the name MacEwen was Clan MacEwen of Otter that was centred on the shores of Loch Fyne in Argyll. (More...)
Clan MacFarlane is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan claims a descent from the old line of the Earls of Lennox. For some time there had been some controversy as to the descent of these earls, with both Gaelic and Anglo-Saxon origins given. Though today it is generally accepted that the earls, and in consequence (More...)
Clan Macfie is a Scottish clan. Since 1981, the clan has been officially registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon, which is the heraldic authority of Scotland. The clan is considered an armigerous clan because even though the clan is recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, it is currently without a chief (More...)
History Origins of the clan The MacGillivrays were a principal clan even before King Somerled, progenitor of the MacDonalds drove the Norsemen from the western Isles. The Clann Mhic Gillebràth were dispersed after King Alexander II of Scotland subdued Argyll in the year 1222. 14th century & clan conflicts The Clan MacGillivray eventually joined the Chattan Confederation which was (More...)
History Origins of the name From the Gaelic MacAonghais (Sons of Angus). Mac or Mc (as they are interchangeable) means son or family of, aon means one or unique, and gusa means choice. Therefore Unique Choice or Choice One. Mac does not imply strict bloodlines, but could reflect kinship, dependent allies or tenants. This name first appears (More...)
History Origins of the clan In Gaelic, the name Macintyre is rendered ‘Mac an t-Saoir’, meaning ‘son of the carpenter’. A traditional account dates the origins of the name to the early twelfth century, when Somerled was establishing his lordship in the Western Isles. After Olav the Red, Norse King of Mann and the Isles, resisted Somerled’s ambitions, (More...)
The Clan MacIver is a Scottish clan and sept of several larger clans. The name MacIver is a sept name for the Clan Campbell and Clan MacKenzie. The Clan MacIver is also considered an Armigerous clan as there is no Chief recognised by the Lord Lyon of Lyon Court. Origins The surname MacIver is an Anglicisation of (More...)
The Clan Mackay (Gaelic: Mac Aoidh) is an ancient and once powerful Scottish clan from the country’s far north in the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old province of Moray. They played a powerful force in politics beginning in the 14th century, supporting Robert the Bruce. Mackays became famous for strength, courage and (More...)
Origins The Mackenzies were of Celtic stock and were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestors. They are believed to be related to Clan Matheson and Clan Anrias, all three descending from the 12th century Gilleoin of the Aird. Based initially in Kintail, the clan was recorded at Eilean Donan on Loch Duich, a (More...)
Clan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides. Arms of the Chief and the Mackinnon of Mackinnon Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th century historian W. F. Skene named the clan as one of the seven clans of (More...)
Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness with strong Jacobite ties. The Mackintoshes share a common history with the Chattan Confederation. Origins of the clan Shaw, son of Duncan Macduff, accompanied King Malcolm IV of Scotland to Morayshire to suppress rebellion in 1160. In 1163 he was granted land in the Findhorn valley and made constable (More...)
Clan Maclachlan, also known as Clan Lachlan, is a Highland Scottish clan that historically centred on the lands of Strathlachlan on Loch Fyne, Argyll on the west coast of Scotland. The clan claims descent from Lachlan Mor, who lived on Loch Fyne in the 13th century, and who has left his name upon the countryside (More...)
History The Maclaines of Lochbuie, Mull are descended from Gillean-na-Tauighe, (Gillean of the Battle Axe), a fierce warrior who lived in the thirteenth century. He is said to have fought, along with his sons, at the battle of Largs in 1263. Gillean’s great-grandson, Iain Dubh, or Black John, had two sons, Eachann Reaganach (Hector the Stern), (More...)
Origins of the clan The origins of the clan are uncertain but by tradition the MacLarens are descended from a man called Lorn who was the son of Erc who landed in Argyll in 503 A.D. However there is no concrete evidence of Lorn being the progenitor of the family. A more likely origin of the (More...)
The Clan MacLea is a Highland Scottish clan, which was traditionally located in the district of Lorn in Argyll, Scotland, and is seated on the Isle of Lismore. There is a tradition of some MacLeas Anglicising their names to Livingstone, thus the Clan Livingstone Society’s website also refers to clan as the Highland Livingstones. The (More...)
Name Dates and Notes Designation Sir Charles Hector Fitzroy Maclean of Duart and Morvern, KT, KBE, GCVO, 27th Clan Chief. Created Lord Maclean (Life Peer) in 1970. b. 1916 - d. 1990. Lord Chamberlain of Her Majesty’s Household; Lord Lieutenant of Argyll; Chief Scout of the British Commonwealth. 11th Baronet Morvern Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean of Duart and Morvern, 26th Clan (More...)
History Origins of the Name The name MacLellan has evolved from the Gaelic MacGille Fhaolain - ’son of a servant of Saint Fillan‘. The name is Gaelic in origin, deriving from ‘Mac Gille Fhaolain’ ‘son of the servant of St Filan’. St Filan was a missionary of the old Celtic church, and there is a village in (More...)
Clan MacLennan, also known as Siol Ghillinnein, is a Highland Scottish clan which hist