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 that may be historically related to yours. This could be because the name you have searched for is a recognised Sept (family enjoying the protection) of another clan or family. Or it might be that your name is strongly associated with a particular locality where one or more tartans are historically prevalent. Or we may also list variant spellings, including Gaelic spellings, which might not otherwise be obvious.

If in doubt, just ask our customer service team. A computer database can never be complete, and they are expertly trained to advise you about tartans that you might consider if none exists for your surname.