ABOUT CLANS AND FAMILIES

Derived from the Gaelic clanna, meaning ‘children’, a clan was essentially a close-knit tribal grouping settled in a particular territory and whose members – or ‘children’, or ‘kin’ – owed unswerving loyalty to a chief who, in turn, was bound by duty and honour to protect them.

Not all members of a clan necessarily shared the same surname as the chief – known as ceann-cinnidh, meaning ‘head and chief of the family’ – and these ‘kindred of the clan’, or ‘kinsfolk’, were recognised, as they are to this day, as septs, or sub-branches of the clan.

As such, they are entitled to share in the clan’s heritage and traditions that include the right to display its tartan and heraldry of crest and motto – this heraldry recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms of Scotland, the final arbiter on all matters heraldic.

In the Scottish Lowlands, ‘families’, rather than clans predominated – Clan Douglas of the Borders being one of the several exceptions – but they have the same recognised kinsfolk structure as the clans.

Our booklets also feature a number of popular surnames found in England and Wales and, with some prominent families of particular names having enjoyed a close ‘kinship’ status, they are also entitled to be considered ‘clans’.

But, to highlight the essential differences between traditional Scottish clans and families, we have put our Welsh and English range into the category of ‘Family History Surnames’.

Meanwhile, adding further variety to the rich cultural heritage that is represented by surnames is the appearance in recent times, in lists of those most commonly found throughout not only the United Kingdom but also much further afield, of ones that include Khan, Patel and Singh. 

These have proud roots in the vast sub-continent of India and, accordingly, are being steadily added to Lang Syne’s ever-expanding catalogue.