Portal:Clans of Scotland

The Clans of Scotland Portal

A Scottish clan (from Gaelic clann, literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, which regulates Scottish heraldry and coats of arms. Most clans have their own tartan patterns, usually dating from the 19th century, which members may incorporate into kilts or other clothing.

The modern image of clans, each with their own tartan and specific land, was promulgated by the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott after influence by others. Historically, tartan designs were associated with Lowland and Highland districts whose weavers tended to produce cloth patterns favoured in those districts. By process of social evolution, it followed that the clans/families prominent in a particular district would wear the tartan of that district, and it was but a short step for that community to become identified by it.

Many clans have their own clan chief; those that do not are known as armigerous clans. Clans generally identify with geographical areas originally controlled by their founders, sometimes with an ancestral castle and clan gatherings, which form a regular part of the social scene. The most notable clan event of recent times was The Gathering 2009 in Edinburgh, which attracted at least 47,000 participants from around the world.

Clan map

Clan map of Scotland

Selected clans -

Image 1

Clan MacDuff or Clan Duff is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief and is therefore considered an Armigerous clan, which is registered with the Lyon Court. The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the original Earls of Fife, although this title went to the Stewarts of Albany in the late fourteenth century. The title returned to the MacDuff chief when William Duff was made Earl Fife in 1759. His descendant Alexander Duff was made Duke of Fife in 1889. (Full article...)
Image 2

Clan Agnew (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Mac a' Ghnìomhaid) is a Scottish clan from Galloway in the Scottish Lowlands. (Full article...)
Image 3

Clan Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: Brùs) is a Lowlands Scottish clan. It was a royal house in the 14th century, producing two kings of Scotland (Robert the Bruce and David II of Scotland), and a disputed High King of Ireland, Edward Bruce. (Full article...)
Image 4

Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief of the clan is customarily referred to as simply "Lochiel". (Full article...)
Image 5

Clan Carnegie is a Lowland Scottish clan. (Full article...)
Image 6

Clan MacLeod (/məˈklaʊd/ mə-KLOWD; Scottish Gaelic: Clann Mhic Leòid [ˈkʰl̪ˠãũn̪ˠ vĩçkʲ ˈʎɔːtʲ]) is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is MacLeod of MacLeod, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ("seed of Tormod"); the Clan MacLeod of Lewis and Raasay, whose chief is MacLeod of The Lewes (Scottish Gaelic: Mac Ghille Chaluim), are known in Gaelic as Sìol Torcaill ("seed of Torcall"). Both branches claim descent from Leòd, who lived in the 13th century.

Today, Clan MacLeod of The Lewes, Clan MacLeod of Raasay, and Clan MacLeod are represented by "Associated Clan MacLeod Societies", and the chiefs of the three clans. The association is made up of ten national societies across the world including: Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States. (Full article...)
Image 7

Clan Ross (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Anndrais [ˈkʰl̪ˠãũn̪ˠ ˈan̪ˠt̪ɾɪʃ]) is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross. (Full article...)
Image 8

Clan Cumming (Scottish Gaelic: Na Cuimeinich [nə ˈkʰɯ̃mɛnɪç]), also known as Clan Comyn, is a Scottish clan from the central Highlands that played a major role in the history of 13th-century Scotland and in the Wars of Scottish Independence. The Clan Comyn was once the most powerful family in 13th-century Scotland, until they were defeated in civil war by their rival to the Scottish throne, Robert the Bruce. (Full article...)
Image 9

Clan Macqueen is a Highland Scottish clan and a member of the Chattan Confederation. The clan does not currently have a chief and is therefore considered an armigerous clan. (Full article...)
Image 10

Clan Borthwick is a Scottish clan. (Full article...)
Image 11

Clan Mackay (/məˈkaɪ/ mə-KY; Scottish Gaelic: Clann Mhic Aoidh [ˈkʰl̪ˠãũn̪ˠ vĩçˈkʲɤj]) is an ancient and once-powerful Highland Scottish clan from the far North of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old Kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. In the centuries that followed they were anti-Jacobite. The territory of the Clan Mackay consisted of the parishes of Farr, Tongue, Durness and Eddrachillis, and was known as Strathnaver, in the north-west of the county of Sutherland. However, it was not until 1829 that Strathnaver was considered part of Sutherland when the chief sold his lands to the Earls of Sutherland and the Highland Clearances then had dire consequences for the clan. In the 17th century the Mackay chief's territory had extended to the east to include the parish of Reay in the west of the neighbouring county of Caithness. The chief of the clan is Lord Reay and the lands of Strathnaver later became known as the Reay Country. (Full article...)
Image 12

Clan Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: Na Caimbeulaich [na ˈkʰaimbəl̪ˠɪç]) is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan became Earl of Argyll and later Duke of Argyll. (Full article...)
Image 13

Clan Johnstone is a Border Reiver Scottish clan. (Full article...)
Image 14

Clan MacLeod of The Lewes, commonly known as Clan MacLeod of Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Mhic Leòid Leòdhais), is a Highland Scottish clan, which at its height held extensive lands in the Western Isles and west coast of Scotland. From the 14th century up until the beginning of the 17th century there were two branches of Macleods: the MacLeods of Dunvegan and Harris (Clan MacLeod); and the Macleods of the Isle of Lewis. In Gaelic the Macleods of Lewis were known as Sìol Thorcaill ("Seed of Torquil"), and the MacLeods of Dunvegan and Harris were known as Sìol Thormoid ("Seed of Tormod").

The traditional progenitor of the MacLeods was Leod, made a son of Olaf the Black, King of Mann and the Isles, by a now-discredited tradition. An older, more accepted tradition names his father Olvir and describes the clan as Sliochd Olbhur. Tradition gave Leod two sons, Tormod - progenitor of the Macleods of Harris and Dunvegan (Sìol Thormoid); and Torquil - progenitor of the Macleods of Lewis (Sìol Thorcaill). In the 16th and early 17th centuries the chiefly line of the Clan Macleod of The Lewes was nearly extinguished by the bloodthirsty and power hungry chief "Old Rory" and his various offspring. This feuding directly led to the fall of the clan, and loss of its lands to the Clan Mackenzie. One line of the 16th century chiefly family, the Macleods of Raasay, survived and prospered on their lands for centuries thereafter. The current chief of Lewis descends from this latter family. (Full article...)
Image 15

Clan Pollock is an armigerous Scottish clan whose origin lies in a grant of land on the southern bank of the River Clyde, courtesy of King David I, to the sons of Fulbert from Walter fitz Alan, the 1st High Steward of Scotland, in the 12th century. It is among the oldest recorded surnames in Scotland. The clan is a sept of Clan Maxwell. (Full article...)

Related portals

Selected biography

John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll was a British nobleman who was Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. he was the husband of Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. He was the first president of "The Rangers Football Club", thanks to his Argyll ties to the original founders of the football club. Lorne was Governor and Constable of Windsor Castle from 1892 to 1914 and he sat as MP for Manchester South from 1895 until the death of his father on 24 April 1900, when he succeeded as 9th and 2nd Duke of Argyll. He and Princess Louise lived at Kensington Palace until his death from pneumonia in 1914. He is buried at Kilmun Parish Church.

Did you know?

...that the last chief of Clan MacQuarrie sold off his clan lands in Scotland and joined the British Army, at age 68, and fought in the American Revolutionary War?
... that King James IV of Scotland once used Mingary Castle as a stronghold for fighting off clan Donald in the late 15th century?
...that tradition traces Clan Drummond, a Scottish clan from Stirlingshire, to Hungarian origins?
... that in 1747, Aulay Macaulay, the last chief of Clan MacAulay, invented a system of shorthand in an unsuccessful attempt revive his clan's fortune?
... that the Clan Mackintosh fought against the Clan MacDonald and Clan Cameron in 1688, in what is claimed to have been the last Scottish clan battle?
... that Alexander of Islay encouraged Clan Chattan to fight the Battle of Craig Cailloch against Clan Cameron as revenge for the Camerons' defection?
... that members of Scottish clans wear a sprig of a particular plant known as a clan badge, to identify their affiliation?
...that the last chief of Clan MacQuarrie sold off his clan lands in Scotland and joined the British Army, at age 68, and fought in the American Revolutionary War?
... that the 17th chief of the Clan Maclachlan was killed by a cannonball while leading his Jacobite clansmen at the Battle of Culloden in 1746?
...that tradition traces Clan Drummond, a Scottish clan from Stirlingshire, to Hungarian origins?
...that Taillear Dubh na Tuaighe ("Black Tailor of the Axe") got his nickname after killing the rival Scottish Highlands clan chief in battle with a Lochaber axe?

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