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| The word CLAN, in the way that we have come to accept the meaning, became prevalent in the Highlands of Scotland during the 13th Century. |
| In general terms, a clan is a social grouping whose families are accepted as being derived from a common ancestor. In practice the core clan was augmented by dependant and associated families who owe allegiance to the clan. While the clan system was developed in and is typical of the Highlands of Scotland, it has, over the years, become commonplace to refer to the great families of the Scottish lowlands as clans. |
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When tracing your clan roots today, anyone who has the name of a sept or dependant of the clan itself, has the priveledge of wearing the clan crest and tartan. Septs are descendants from the Chief by the female line and who, consequently, bear a different surname. While allegiance was generally given to the fathers clan, the Celtic tradition includes a strong element of descent through and loyalty to the mothers line.
In addition, anyone from a dependant family, as described above, also has the priveledge of wearing the clan crest and tartan.If you are looking for a distant connection to your surname a few key points will help you - The sound of a name is often more important than the spelling, since spelling was only standardised relatively recently
- There are approaching 20,000 Scottish surnames but fewer than 3,000 have highland origins. It is, typically, the more numerous lowland Scots who have produced the great Scottish genious and inventiveness but without the glamour and romance attached to the Scottish Highlanders.
- Mac, as applied to Scottish surnames means "son" and while this has become standardised in Scottish spelling today in the past the abbreviation Mc or even M was just as common.
This site will help you to find information about some of the major clans and significant families of Scotland. |
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