AGNEW
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The first record of this name in Scotland appears in Liddesdale around 1190. The family are of norman origin from the Barony d'Agneaux. A branch of the family went to Ulster, their castle of Kilwaughter is now a ruin, but many families in the U.S. and Australia descend from this line.
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ANDERSON
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This surname is connected with St. Andrew the Patron Saint of Scotland. Prominent branches of Clan Anderson are the Andersons of Dowhill, Wester Ardbreck in Banffshire. In 1748 the mentally unstable widow of a soldier returned to her home town of Elgin and gave birth to a son in the Cathedral. This child grew up to become Lieutenant-General Anderson and when he died bequeathed part of his considerable fortune to the town.
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ANGUS
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The name means "Unique Choice" and an Angus was King of Dalriada in Western Scotland in the 9th century. The Earldom of Angus was held by the Stewarts and Douglases and is now vested in the Dukedom of Hamilton.
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ARBUTHNOTT
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The surname originates from Berwickshire where it was adopted by Duncan, son and heir of Hugh of Swinton, who had received the lands of Arbuthnott in Kincardineshire from Walter Olifard at the end of the 12th century. Arbuthnott House is situated 8 miles S.W. of Stonehaven and before the 16th century consisted of a 13th century tower.
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ARMSTRONG
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There is a traditional story that the progenitor of the Armstrongs was the armour bearer to a King of Scots and rescued his monarch in the midst of battle. From this deed, the family came to be known 'Armstrong' and received a gift of lands in Liddesdale. In 1363 Gilbert Armstrong, Steward of the Household to King David II, was Scotland Ambassador to England, and the family grew to become not only very powerful in the Borders of Scotland but extremely turbulent, renowned as 'reivers' who made constant forays into England to raid and plunder.
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BALLIE
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Derived from the bailie or bailiff and not, as is believed by some, from Baliol. There are a number of prominent families of the name, notably Polkemmet and Dochfour. Through the marriage of Colonel James Ballie, M.P. for Inverness, and Nellie Lisa Bass in 1894, the title of Baron Burton came in to the Dochfour Family.
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BAIRD
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The originates from 'bard' meaning 'poet'. It was a Baird who rescued the Scottish King William the Lion by a wild boar and he was rewarded with grants of land. Robert, son of Waldave de Biggar, granted a Charter to Richard Baird of Meekle and Little Kyp in Lanarkshire in the 13th century and Robert Bruce granted the barony of Cambuskenneth to Robert Baird.
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BARCLAY
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The Scottish and English Barclays are of Norman origin, and the surname derives from Roger de Berkeley who came to England at the time of William the Conqueror. Sir Walter Barclay of Gartly, Lord of Redcastle and Inverkeillor, was appointed Chamberlain of Scotland under William the Lion. In later centuries the Barclays are found in Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire, but the male line of Gartly ended with Walter, Cannon of Moray in 1456.
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BORTHWICK
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The name is believed to be of Celtic origin. A Borthwick is recorded as having accompanied the Princess Margaret Aetheling from England to Scotland in 1061, and another rescued his Scottish host from Saracens and recaptured the heart of Robert the Bruce.
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BOYD
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There is a suggestion that this surname may have originated on the island of Bute, which in Gaelic is Bhoid. The Lordship of Boyd was created in 1454. Thomas Boyd was created Earl of Arran in 1467,but the title was later forfeited. William, 10th Lord of Boyd, was created Earl of Kilmarnock in 1661.
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BRODIE
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The Brodies are one of the original Pictish tribes of Moray, and the name comes from the ancient Thaneage. It is known that Michael, Thaine of Brodie received a charter from King Robert Bruce shortly before the Battle of Bannockburn, but factual history on the clan is scarce since in 1645 all records were destroyed when Brodie Castle, near Forres, was burned by Lord Lewis Gordon in the Covenanting conflict.
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BRUCE
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The family of de Bruis came from Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066. They received the lands of Skelton in Yorkshire, and through friendship with King David I of Scotland, Robert de Bruis was gifted the Lordship of Annandale in 1124.
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BUCHANAN
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A Stirlingshire clan of Pictish origin whose lands were on the East side of Loch Lomond. They are said to have decended from an Irishman called Anselan O'Kyan who settled in the Lennox in the 11th century.
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BURNETT
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Patrick Burnard held lands in Berwickshire in 1250 and Alexander Burnard or Burnett went north in the train of Robert I and received charters of lands in the forest of Drum and the barony of Tulliboyll in the sheriffdom of Kincardine. The Burnets of Barns, who gave their name to Burnetland in the Parish of Broughton claimed descent from Robertius de Burneville in the reign of David I.
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CAMERON
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The Clan name is said to derive from the Gaelic cam-shron which means 'crooked hill'. Donald Dubh, progenitor of the Camerons of Locheil, is belived to have led the clan on the side of the Lord of the Isles at Harlaw in 1411. The Cameron of Erracht are said to descend from a marriage between a MacMartin of Letterfinlay heiress and a member of Clan Cameron.
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CAMPBELL
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Tradition allocates the origin of this powerful clan to marriage between Eva O' Duibhne, heiress of Clan Duibhne of Lochawe, and the first recorded Campbell in the 13th century. Certainlay, Sir Colin Campbell of Lochawe was recognised by the King of Scots in 1292 as one of the principal barons of Argyll. The name Campbell itself is derived from the Gaelic cam-beul meaning 'crooked mouth'.
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CARMICHAEL
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From the barony of that name in Lanarkshire, Robert de Carmitely in 1250 had right of lordship in the land of Cleghorn. Sir John de Carmychell had lands of Carmychell in the 14th century from William Earl of Douglas. John Carmichael became Bishop of Orleans in recognition of the great services rendered in France by the Scots. He is known in French history as Jean de St. Michel, and in 1429 he founded in his cathedral church a Messe écossaise for his countrymen slain at Verneuil.
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CARNEGIE
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The name derives from the lands of 'Carryneggy' in S.E. Angus, comfirmed on John de Ballinhard in 1358 by King David II. Sir David Carnegie was created Earl of Southesk by Charles I in 1633 and although the title and estates were forfeited after the Carnegies supported the Old Pretender in 1715, they were later recovered.
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CHATTAN
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The name of this Clan, or Tribal Federation as it became derives from Gillichattan Mór, the 'Great Servant of St. Catan' of the ancient Culdee Church, who lived on the Island of Bute. By the 12th century the descendants of the saints family and followers had spread to Glenloy and Loch Arkaig in Lochaber. For nearly 5 centuries Clan Chattan remained as a powerful and influential force in the Highlands, holding lands that extended from Inverness to Laggan in the Upper Spey valley.
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CHISHOLM
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Name found in Roxburghshire and originally De Chesholm. The original Border seat was the barony of Chisholme. The Highland and the Lowland Chisholms descend from a common ancestor as one of the family married Margaret, Lady of Erchless, daughter and heiress of Wyland of the Aird, and he became Constable of Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness. His son Thomas, born in 1403, succeeded to his maternal grandfathers lands in Morayshire.
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COCHRANE
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The name is taken from the lands of Cochrane (Coueran) near Paisley in Renfrewshire. Waldeve de Cochrane witnessed a charter in favour of the 5th Earl of Menteith in 1262. The family was raised to the peerage in 1647 and in 1669 Sir William Cochrane,Baron Cochrane, was created 1st Earl of Dundonald.
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COCKBURN
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The name derives from a location near Duns in Berwickshire. The Cockburns were ancient vassals of the Earl of March and ancestors of the Cockburns of Langton, Ormiston and Clerkington. David II conferred the barony of Carriden in West Lothian on Sir Alexander de Cockburn and Alexander Cockburne was Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland.
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COLQUHOUN
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A territorial name from the barony of Colquhoun in Dunbartonshire. The founder of the family was Humphrey de Kilpatrick or Kirkpatrick, who obtained a grant of lands in the reign of Alexander II. The lands of Luss were aquired in the 14th century by marriage to the "Fair Maid of Luss", a descendant of Maldwin, Dean of the Lennox in 1150.
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COMYN,CUMMING |
Descended from a Norman noble, Richard Cumyn, the family became powerful in Scotland and in the reign of Alexander III they held the earldoms of Atholl, Menteith and Buchan. By marriage to the sister of King John Baliol, and by descent from King Duncan, John, Lord of Badenoch- the 'Red' Comyn- had a strong claim to the Scottish throne.After a confrontation with Robert Bruce in Dumfries where the Red Comyn was killed, the family went into decline.
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CRANSTON
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This family descends from Elfric de Cranston, a Norman who lived in the 12th century. The Cranstons owned land in Edinburgh and Roxburghshire, and family tombs can be found in Melrose Abbey. The lordship was created in 1609. It became extinct with the death of the 11th Lord Cranston in 1813.
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CRAWFORD
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From the Barony of Crawford in the upper ward of Clydesdale. In 1248, Sir John of that ilk died leaving 2 daughters, of whom the elder married Archibald de Douglas, and the youmger married David Lindsay of Wauchopedale, ancestors of the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres.
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CUNNINGHAM
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This family descends from Warnibald, who settled in the district of Cunningham, Ayrshire, in the 12th century. Harvey de Cunningham received the lands of Kilmaurs from Alexander III after the battle of Lrgs. Alexander de Cunningham was created 1st Earl of Glencairn by James III in 1488 and was later killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn.
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