What Southern Breeze said - but I also understand the desire to actually have a connection to the tartan.

This is why I started looking at my family tree in earnest, and discovered I'm a heck of a lot more Scottish than I understood myself to be (largely German and English). Besides the MacGregor that I knew about, I've discovered I've got some Abernathy, Blue, Hamilton, Johnston, Nee, and Wylie in me, all of whom can be more or less said to have origins in Scotland. What I thought was English turned out to be Welsh (ap Howell, and ap Hew), but there's still plenty of English to go around. Heck, I've even got some Swiss in me, dating back to the 1600's, that I didn't know about until last month.

I figure this gives me a range of options - if not actual tartans associated with the names, then maybe district tartans representing where families may have lived.

Doing a bit of this research strengthened my sense of identity in ways that I hadn't expected. Should I find one or more tartans that links in some way to my family tree - one that also appeals to me aesthetically - I know that I will be proud to wear it, and happy to state my claim on it.

You also have plenty of generic tartans you can adopt. Consider Braveheart Warrior, Evergreen, or Highland Village (if you can find them).

Phil, you already have a great list to start with. Sounds like you might be planning to branch off from UKs any day now.

Regards,
Rex in Cincinnati.