The name MacRae or the gaelic ‘McRath’ is understood to mean ‘son of grace’ and is commonly thought to be of ecclesiastical origin. The clan name first appears in the district of Beauly in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries but within one hundred years they had migrated to Kintail in Wester Ross. The clan MacRae, […]
The ancient history of Galloway has a long connection with the name MacDowall. Galloway, a district in the south west of Scotland, took its name from the Galli or Gaelic settlers of the six and seven hundreds AD. There are many legends that exist in Galloway including the story that Dovall of Galloway killed Nothatus […]
The old family of this name were probably a branch of the Anglo-Norman family of Heriz from Nottinghamshire who came to Scotland with David I. However, there is another theory about the name’s origin. The Count of Vendome, a French nobleman, at one point visited Britain, and his coat of arms bears three hedgehogs, and […]
Shortened form of MacGruar is one of the oldest recorded surnames in Breamar. There are a number of variations of the surname Grewar, which include Grewer, Gruer, Gruar, as well as older versions such as Grower and Gurir. It is said that the Grewars went north with Malcolm Canmore (Malcolm III) to Braemar at some […]
Descending from the royal house of Lorn through Gillean of the Battle-Axe, the MacLean clan possessed extensive lands in Mull. The Lochbuie branch of the family are descended from Hector, the brother of Lachlan, who founded the Duart branch of the MacLeans. The brothers received their estates from John of Islay, 1st Lord of the […]
The name Carruthers is from the lands of Carruthers in Middlebie parish in Dumfrisshire. To the ancient Briton fort called Caer Rydderch or Rythyr. There is also an old legend that the Carruthers family may be descendants of ColeHen, King of Cumbria (or Old King Cole as he became known) because one of his sons, […]
Murray of Atholl Clan Crest Crest Description: On a Wreath Or and Sable a demi-savage Proper wreathed about the temples and waist with laurel, his arms extended and holding in the right hand a dagger, in the left a key, all Proper. Murray of Atholl Coats of Arms: A note on Coats of Arms: Under […]
The origins of the name McCulloch are, for the most part, unknown. Traditionally, the name is prominently found in Galloway, but their origin has been described as being “ultra memoriam hominum” in one of their charters. The name may come from the Gaelic Mac Cullaich or Mac C(h)ullach, meaing “son of (the) boar”. It’s in […]
The name Kincaid, it is supposed, is territorial in origin, or possibly from ‘ceann cadha’, the ‘steep place’ or ‘pass’ but could also be ‘of the head of the rock’, or even ‘the head of the battle.’ The lands of Kincade were granted to Maldouen, third Earl of Lennox by Alexander III in 1238 the […]
The MacEwen earliest forebear is Ewen of Otter on the shores of Loch Fyne in Argyll in about 1200, descendants from the original Scots of Dalriada. There are numerous alternative spellings used by the clan. In 1432 the Barony of Otter was granted to Sween MacEwen by James I, with the remainder to the heir […]
