Why does the tartan search sometimes return different names?

Our Tartan Finder tries to help you find a tartan that matches the name you search for, which it can do in various ways:

• Many family names can be spelled in a lot of different ways, but it is still the same family! For example Mc and Mac are mostly interchangeable, and the name Johnstone is the same as Johnson, Jonston, and countless other variants. If a tartan has been registered for one, it can generally be worn by any member of the same extended family.
• It’s amazing how easy it is to mis-type anything, including your own name. So our clever computers check to see if there is another name with just one or two different letters in it.
• Many Scottish clans have a (sometimes large) number of ’septs’, which are other families which historically came under their protective wing, and so are entitled to wear their tartan. If our suggested name is very different, this is likely to be why.
• Sometimes surnames are strongly associated with particular places, so if you key in certain names we might suggest a tartan for their historic locality; this particularly applies in Ireland.

If you are still unsure, feel free to email or phone us to ask why!