Family Name and Clan

[Streetcar]

My understanding is that the sept (indicated by name) would wear the tartan of the clan to which they had allegiance - based usually by in whose lands they lived.

(Of course there is the inevitable digression about "official" clan/tartan affiliation before The Clearances and King George's visit.)

I guess I should lay my cards on the table. Last year, I suggested that because Lady Gray was Queen of England for nine days and since my my grandmother's maiden name was Gray, that might mean, I could legitimately wear the Stewart Tartan. I was shot down very quickly. Apparently her right to be deemed Queen of England was not accepted by all.

Since then through research, I've discovered that the Gaelic form of Gray is MacGashan. MacGashan is a Sept of the Clan Stewart - Stewarts of Atholl. These Stewarts are a branch of the Royal Stewarts.

Any comments?

With respect, it seems as if you may have all ready answered your own question.
It seems like you have been able to develop a reasonable justification to wear that particular tartan.

But if I may play devil's advocate for a moment, is your desire to wear this tartan to pay respect to the MacGashan branch, or is it that you have found a tartan you would like to wear, and have developed a justification for doing so?

Neither choice is wrong, of course and I mean no disrespect by asking.

[Cawdorian]

Sorry to learn of your accident, I am happy to hear that you are recuperating and all is well with you.

Like Don, I am a descendant of the Patrick's, I know for sure that we are of Clan Lamont and are most assuredly entitled to wear the Lamont tartan. My personal preference is to wear tartans of Clans of which I have a blood tie. My two kilts are both representive clans of my ancestry. My Campbell of Cawdor kilt does double duty as it represents another of my ancestral clans and the District of Argyll.

I believe if anyone digs deeply enough into their ancestry and family history they will find a connection to several tartans.

[BoldHighlander]

I've been told there are those who have had a motorcycle accident and those who will have have an accident.

That's how it goes (we always used the word "crash" instead of accident).
It comes with the territory, just find a soft spot when it does

[Ancienne Alliance]

My understanding is that the sept (indicated by name) would wear the tartan of the clan to which they had allegiance - based usually by in whose lands they lived.

(Of course there is the inevitable digression about "official" clan/tartan affiliation before The Clearances and King George's visit.)



With respect, it seems as if you may have all ready answered your own question.
It seems like you have been able to develop a reasonable justification to wear that particular tartan.

But if I may play devil's advocate for a moment, is your desire to wear this tartan to pay respect to the MacGashan branch, or is it that you have found a tartan you would like to wear, and have developed a justification for doing so?

Neither choice is wrong, of course and I mean no disrespect by asking.

Yes I've been asking myself the same question !

[Macman]

Hence my earlier question? Is possession of the family name enough or is it not?

Another aspect of all this is what you mean by "possession". Does it mean that you "possess" a name if you can find it somewhere in your family tree? Or does it mean that it's your own name? Maybe the word "connection" is a better word in the context of an ancestor's name.
As Highland Logan said, this can be a can of worms. We'll all have different opinions on what we consider "proper" to wear.

[BEEDEE]

Don - I looked up Patrick in Tartan for Me which has a wonderful list of surnames and clan associations. Patrick is associated with both Lamont and MacLaren, so there are two clan tartan possibilities for you. If you are able to get back a few generations, you might be able to either solidify one of these two from the area that your family came from in Scotland, or identify a district tartan.

On top of that, there a a wonderful range of fashion tartans. USA Kilts has many of these on thier web site.

Good hunting,

Brian

[gilmore]

I think one would do well to err on the side of caution in making connections between families based on the same or similar names that just may not be there.

E.g., There is a common Chinese name, "Li" or "Lee," that sounds almost exactly like the British name "Leigh." Are they related? If so, prehistorically, before the coming of surnames. Likewise, "Grey" and "Gray" are not at all unusual names in both Scotland and England. It would take more than similarity of name to establish a connection between Lady (and sometime Queen) Jane Grey and the Scottish MacGashans.

My own surname is said to be a sept of two clans. One connection is extremely dubious, and the other is merely quite doubtful. I have a tartan in neither. It just has not been shown to my satisfaction that we are related to either of these groups of people. We may be related to neither. I am hesitant to invest hundreds of dollars in a kilt, fly plaid, clan badge, argylle hose, and all the other knicknacks that are offerred by the merchants of highland gear until I have more proof. If I did and found I was misinformed, I would feel that I would only have to sell it all. Until then I am happy with district tatans.

Making claims about "belonging to a clan" that just aren't true may boost one's ego and perhaps even impress friends and neighbors, but for relatives who rely on this misinformation it can be not only irritating but lead serious genealogical researchers to waste years of effort that could have gone into more fruitful areas of research.

[Cawdorian]

The Patrick's are a sept associated with Clan Lamont. Clan McLaren historians readily note the Patrick's among them were descendants of the McPatrick's of Couston, they are a cadet family of Clan Lamont and are recognized as such in the genealogy of the Clan. The name Patrick is an alias for McPatrick and Lamont.

Patrick is an easy sept to identify and associate with a clan they only belong to Clan Lamont.

[Vafuth]

Aitchison Family, House of Gordon here.

Technically Gordon isn't a clan, being descended from Normans and all....or so I've read.

BTW, I was looking thru the Kiltstore selection of Gordon tartans and came across Gordon of Esselmont tartan which I have seen before...it struck me as odd that it has blue in it

Every other image of Gordon of Esselmont shows it as purple.

[Ryan Nielson]

Wow this thread was hitting on what I was thinking and the specific question I had as well. My last name is Nielson. Nielson name technically appears as a sept in clans MacKay, Gunn and one of the accepted spelling variation of MacNeil clan. Yet I know from a bit of research that my great great grandfather Joseph Nielson came on a boat to america from Denmark around 1883 and settled in minnesota. In my case Nielson name has no scottish association as far as I've seen. In my heart I don't feel enough of a connection to wear any of those particular clan tartans just because I have the associated names. Even though I probably could technically do it with that last name if I wanted to as far as I understand the rules. Or am I wrong? I started to compete in highland games just this year and need to wear a kilt. Not just that I have to but I've come to like wearing the kilt. I enjoy the bagpipes and the scottish highland games culture just as many of you do. I have a fashion kilt that is my first kilt I have ever owned. I felt kind of limited in my choices at first but I've just gotten used to it. I think for me It's very important for me to be totally honest about who I am no matter if I feel somewhat out of place sometimes on this forum or at the games.