Quote Originally Posted by The Scotsman View Post
I think we have to draw some distinction between the clans as they existed prior to 1745 and clans as they are today. While the historical clan system that existed in Scotland prior to the '45 has played a significant role in the shaping of the clan system that we have today, it isn't one and the same. The clan system of today as we know it is more a by-product of 19th century romantic revivalism than it is a survival of the ancient clan system. Thus, what may have been true in regard to clans of the 17th or 18th century is not necessarily true of clans in the 19th, 20th or 21st centuries. The tartans that we wear, the clan crest badges, even our sgian dubhs all came into existance in the 19th century, decades after the clans ceased to have any real power or significance (other than nostalgia) in Scotland. So the customs that we observe today as clansmen have much more to do with the Victorian rather than the Jacobite era.
I heartily agree. My point is that surnames, absent genealogical research, are not a reliable indicator of a genuine connection to a "clan", although that misconception is what guides most folks here in the US as to "clan identity". At the end of the day, the entire subject is heavy with Victorian romanticism/ nostalgia, so perhaps Paul said it best, below...

David