The Appin Stewarts also known as “The Loyal Clan” are the West Highland branch of Clan Stewart. Rather than just a branch the Stewarts of Appin are considered a Clan in their own right since the 15th Century. The Chiefs of Stewart of Appin are descended from Sir James Stewart of Perston, who was the […]
Hunter Clan Crest Crest Description: A greyhound sejant Proper, gorged with an antique crown Or Hunter Coats of Arms: A note on Coats of Arms: Under Scottish heraldic law a coat of arms is awarded to an individual (with the exception of civic or corporate arms) . There is no such thing as a ‘family […]
The name of Wemyss is derived from the Gaelic ‘uaimh’ meaning ‘cave’. On the coast of Fife, below the ruin known as MacDuff’s Castle are caves containing Pictish paintings and it is thought that these gave rise to local place name of Wemyss. Wemyss has been the seat of the chiefs of the Clan Wemyss […]
Early in the 12th century Alexander I of Scotland granted the lands of Anstruther to William de Candela. There has been several theories as to his origin but recent research suggests he may have been a Norman from Italy. There is evidence that William I of England, William the Conqueror, sought assistance from William, Count […]
The surname Russell, or Russel, is believed to have personal origins, rather than territorial. The name in Scots occurs twice with ‘dictus’ and never with the prefix ‘de’, it is thought that it is a diminutive of rous, meaning ‘red’. Infact, in one of Chaucer’s tales, he calls a fox ‘Daun Russel’, referring to its […]
The Balfour clan takes its name from the barony of the same name and is located near the joining of the rivers Ore and Leven in Fife, in the parish of Markinch, formerly belonging to a family which were long heritable sheriffs of Fife. Balfour castle was built upon their ancient possessions, in the vale […]
From the gaelic ‘Mac Shuibhe’ or ‘son of Sweyn’, the MacSween clan claim kinship with the Irish high kings, of the same descent as the great clan Donald. A number of MacQueens are said to have provided an escort at the marriage between the daughter of the clan Ranald and the chief of clan MacKintosh. […]
The name Urquhart is considered to be of Gaelic origin and has been variously translated as ‘by a rowan wood’ or ‘fort on a knoll’. The Urquhart family derive their name from the district of Urquhart which can be found in the old locality of Cromarty, on the north side of the Great Glen. This […]
there are two main branches of bannatynes; the bute (and later arran) bannatynes (kames) and the larnarkshire (corhouse) bannatynes. the link between these two branches are unclear. it is best to treat them as separate families. the bute bannatynes are a sept of clan campbell. the name bannatyne is said to come from the place […]
The Carnegies took their name from the area around Carmyllie, Angus. The family who adopted this name however, were originally known under an earlier adopted place name of Balinhard which is also in Angus. The Balinhards can be found in records from 1230. In 1358 John of Balinhard was granted the lands and barony of […]
