another newbie clan ?

[Steve Ashton]

Please remember that it is not name alone which is most important. The geographical area where your people are from is what is the most telling thing about which Clan your people may or may not have had an affiliation with.

A Clan would be from a geographical area but within that area, people could have many different names. And someone with the same name as a Clan could live somewhere totally different and not be part of the Clan at all. Name alone does not infer Clan membership.

Tartan tells the world - This is where my people are from, This is what makes me who I am today. If your people are of Scottish descent and have been in Canada for awhile, wearing the official Tartan of Canada, The Maple Leaf, may be just as appropriate as a Scottish Highland Clan Tartan. It tells the world - I am a Canadian of Scottish descent.

The vast majority of Scots, did not historically, and do not today, have a Highland Clan affiliation. It was the Romance period that gave rise to the idea of Septs and the idea that "I'm of Scottish descent so must find what Clan I belong to". There is no single, authoritative Sept list. Each Clan Chief can decide which names he or she accepts. And those names can and have changed.