Heritage & Ancestry

If your family carries the name MacKay — or one of its many related surnames — your roots may lead to the far north of Scotland. The Scottish surnames of Clan MacKay stretch from Bain and Polson to Morgan and Neilson. This is one of Scotland’s great Highland clans. Their story spans fierce battles, devastating […]

Clan Gunn is one of Scotland’s oldest Norse clans. Their lands stretched across the wild, windswept country of Caithness and Sutherland. This is a clan born of Vikings, shaped by feud, and scattered to the world by the Highland Clearances. New to the idea? Read what clan really meant first. Balnakeil beach in Sutherland, Scotland […]

The Scottish surnames of Clan Chisholm carry a story unlike any other Highland clan. By ancient tradition, only three people on earth had the right to use the definite article before their name: the Pope, the King, and The Chisholm. That title belongs to the clan chief. It speaks to centuries of Highland pride, warrior […]

If your surname is Forbes, Bannerman, Michie, or Lumsden, you may carry the blood of one of Scotland’s oldest and most powerful clans. The Scottish surnames of Clan Forbes stretch back more than a thousand years. They are tied to the rough hills and river valleys of Aberdeenshire, where this fierce northeast clan once ruled. […]

The Scottish surnames of Clan Sutherland carry centuries of history. They speak of Norse warriors, Highland pride, and one of the most painful chapters in Scottish history. If your family name is Sutherland, Gray, or Mowat, you may have roots in the far north of Scotland. It is a wild and dramatic land. Sea cliffs, […]

If your family name is Mackintosh, McIntosh, MacIntosh, Tosh, Ritchie, or Hardy, your roots may lead back to the rugged hills of the Scottish Highlands. Clan Mackintosh has shaped Scottish history for over 800 years. Their name carries weight, their story carries courage, and their lands still stand. Photo by Connor Mollison on Unsplash What […]

The Scottish surnames of Clan Munro run deep in Highland history. If you carry the name Munro, Monroe, Monro, Vass, or Dingwall, your roots likely trace to Easter Ross in the far north of Scotland. The Munros have called the same stretch of land home for almost a thousand years. Their territory runs along the […]

If your surname is MacPherson, McPherson, Murdoch, Cattanach, or one of dozens of related names, your roots may lead straight to the Highlands of Scotland. Clan MacPherson is one of the great Highland clans. They held their lands in Badenoch for over seven centuries. And their story — of loyalty, exile, and survival — is […]

If the surname MacLean runs through your family tree, your roots go deep into the Isle of Mull. The Scottish surnames of Clan MacLean tell a story of loyalty, loss, and one of the most dramatic castles in all of Scotland. Their stronghold, Duart Castle, still watches over the Sound of Mull today. A view […]