tartan history

[rustyhands]

hi guys

i was told in edinburgh that you are to wear your mothers tartan from her bloodline. i ve always thought it was the fathers side. can someone help the newbie?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

All things being equal, most people choose to wear a tartan that relates to their surname, assuming their surname has a tartan connection.

Thus, Mr. McIntosh is likely to want to wear the MacKintosh tartan. Mr. Crawford is most likely to wear the Crawford tartan -- though the Crawfords are part of the Lindsay clan, and he may choose to wear the Lindsay tartan, as well. But since there is a name tartan for Crawford, and that is the name he bears, usually that's the first choice.

Now, the most important part of the above is the beginning phrase -- All things being equal. There are no hard-and-fast rules about selecting a tartan, and people are certainly more than free to wear a tartan relating to their mother's line, or a grandmother, great-uncle, or grear-great-great-grandfather if they so choose. There are any number of reasons one might imagine for wanting to wear their mother's tartan over their father's. The reason you choose to wear a tartan is solely your decision.

But the common practice is to wear a tartan that relates to the surname you actually bear, and since most of the time that name comes to us from our father, the general norm is to wear a tartan from the father's line.

[Highlander31]

My mother was a MacGregor, and my father was Irish. Since my father's family does not have a tartan, my choice was obvious.

[Mr. MacDougall]

Welcome to the murky waters of the Great Tartan Debate. There are those who believe that you must be entitled to wear a tartan, and those who believe you're entitled to wear any tartan, on the basis of having a pulse. I rather suspect the person you talked to in Edinburgh was trying to sell you a kilt or other tartan merchandise, and you should take anything they said with a grain of salt.

On the other hand... you shouldn't (in my opinion) limit your tartan options to half your family, based on plumbing.

[Daibhidh O'Baoighill]

from WV!

[Daniel Hyde]

In my case, it is my mother that is the MacGillivray, albeit changed spelling. I do my best to honor her.
Dan

[McMurdo]

I wear both my father's tartan and my my mother's tartan, as my Mom is a Stewart there is no shortage there. By the way...

Welcome to Sherwood, I mean X-Marks.

[Sionnach]

from the desert- Peoria, AZ

[Carolina Kiltman]

My mother was a MacGregor, and my father was Irish. Since my father's family does not have a tartan, my choice was obvious.

Similar situation here. My mother was Scots, born in Scotland. My surname is English, going back in the US to the late 1600's. While there were two Scot lasses who married into the line, it was no a no brainer for me. I chose my Mother's tartan

[Ruanaidh]

Welcome to the rabble from West Texas.