Taking the name of a town in England, a Norman named Walter Fitz-Gilbert of Hambledon, moved to Renfrewshire. He is first mentioned in a 1294 charter given to Paisley monastery giving the privilege of fishing for herring in the Clyde, to which he is a witness. Later, during the Wars of Independence, Fitz-Gilbert was governor […]
There are two trains of thought in regards to the origin of the Scottish surname of Lyon. Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, perhaps the greatest herald genealogist, was of the opinion that his family were of Celtic origin and descended from a younger son of the Lamonts. However, it is now a generally accepted […]
The Logan name is found to have been used by two distinct families, one in the Highlands and one in the Lowlands. Translated into Gaelic and back again the ‘Logans of the North’ became ‘Siol Ghilli’nnein’ which becomes MacClennan. These Northern Logans are said to have been the descendants of the Logans of Druimdeurfait, in […]
Ancient Lundin charters show that the progenitor of the clan was Philip, Chamberlain in the time of King Malcolm IV, who was granted the barony of Lundin in Fife. It is from these lands that the clan takes its name (“de Lundin”). By the 15th century the barony and name had become “Lundy” which in […]
This name is formed from the Norman ‘chese’ which meant ‘to choose’, and ‘holm’ which is a Saxon word that meant ‘meadow’. Erchless Castle in the Highlands. It was built by the Bisset clan in the 13th century, but passed to the Chisholms through marriage in the 15th century. It remained in the family until […]
The name of ‘son of Andrew’ is widespread in Scotland in different forms. In the Highlands it was rendered as MacAndrew, more commonly in the lowlands as Anderson. They share the same Gaelic derivation of ‘Gilleaindreas’ – literally a servant of St. Andrew, Scotland’s patron saint. Though it is said there is no exact place […]
The name Middleton is believed to derive from the lands of Middleton of Conveth, which are near Laurencekirk in Kincardineshire. These lands are confirmed by a charter of William the Lion. In 1221 Umfridus de Midilton witnessed the granting of land to the Abbey of Arbroath. The name of Humfrey de Middleton appears on the […]
The Clan originated in the 15th Century when Thomas, a descendant of the Chattan Macintoshes, grandson of William, 8th. Chief of Clan Chattan . The Clan had become too large to manage so Thomas took his kinsmen across the Grampians from Badenoch to settle in Glenshee. They were known as McCommie, McColm and MacComas. Clan […]
Variations of the name include Allardyce and Allardes. The name originates from the old barony of Allardice in the parish of Arbuthnott, Kinkardineshire. The recipient of a charter of William the Lion of the lands of Alrethis took his name from the area. It is thought that it gained it’s name from the Middle English […]
The River Cart runs through Renfrewshire and Glasgow’s South side. The name Cathcart is derived from this. The first records of the clan appear in 1178 when Rainaldus de Kethcart was witness to a charter by Walter Fitzalan to the Church of Kethcart for the monastery of Paisley in 1178. His son, William de Kethcart, […]
