Clan Hay is a major Scottish family whose senior line, the Earls of Erroll, has held the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of Scotland since the early 14th century. The family’s history is anchored in medieval records, the Erroll estates and the Slains castles of Aberdeenshire. Its traditional origin story at Luncarty is best treated as legend rather than documentary genealogy.
Browse our Hay Family Crest gifts to find the tartan and Serva Jugum design on blankets, drinkware, apparel and keepsakes.
Where Does the Hay Name Come From?
Clan Hay’s own historical account traces the senior Erroll line to the de la Haye family recorded in 12th-century Scotland. The name is commonly linked with Normandy. Individual Hay lines can be traced through family records and places as the surname spread.
Erroll in Perthshire became the principal territorial association of the senior branch. In the mid-15th century, William Hay, ninth of Erroll, was created the first Earl of Erroll. The earldom and hereditary constableship belong to the senior line, giving Hay history an enduring connection to Scottish public ceremony.
What Does the Hay Motto “Serva Jugum” Mean?
Serva Jugum is usually translated as “Keep the Yoke.” The clan society associates the motto with the Hay chiefs, alongside yoke imagery in its badge tradition.
The Luncarty Story: Tradition and Evidence
Clan Hay tradition tells of a Hay and his sons using an ox yoke to rally a retreating Scottish force at Luncarty, with a land grant following their victory. The story helps explain later Hay imagery, but the episode is not a securely documented 10th-century family pedigree. For research, the medieval de la Haye record and one's own documented family line offer firmer starting points.
Why Is the Lord High Constable Important?
Clan Hay records state that Robert the Bruce made Sir Gilbert Hay of Erroll hereditary Lord High Constable after Bannockburn in 1314. The office was one of the great offices of the medieval Scottish court and became hereditary in the Hay chiefs.
The present chief, Merlin Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll, remains Lord High Constable. The office now has a ceremonial role, but it provides an unusual continuity between a medieval Scottish office and a living clan chief.
Slains Castle and the Hays of Erroll
Old Slains Castle, near Collieston in Aberdeenshire, was associated with the Earls of Erroll. Historic Environment Scotland records that it was destroyed on James VI’s orders in 1594 after Francis Hay, ninth Earl of Erroll, joined the Huntly rebellion and had been implicated in the Spanish Blanks conspiracy.
Francis Hay then built New Slains at Cruden Bay in 1597. The later castle developed over several centuries and remained in the Hay family until 1913. These two sites should be kept distinct: Old Slains was destroyed in 1594, while the well-known coastal ruin is New Slains.
Hay History in the Reformation Era
The Erroll line was involved in the religious and political conflicts of James VI’s reign. Francis Hay’s Catholic allegiance and his alliance with Huntly brought him into open conflict with the Crown in the 1590s. After exile and a public renunciation of Catholicism, he regained royal favour. This episode reflects the Erroll line's place in the religious politics of the late sixteenth century.
Hay, Haye and Hayes: Researching the Surname
Historical records can contain Hay, Haye, de la Haye and Hays. Irish Hayes often has different roots, though individual migration histories can create overlap in later records. Treat spelling as a research clue, then confirm people, places and parent-child links through evidence.
Start with the most recent documented Hay ancestor and work backwards through civil registration, censuses, parish records, wills and land records. Scottish research may lead to Perthshire, Aberdeenshire or other places, but geography should follow the evidence in your own family rather than a general clan map.
Explore the Hay Scottish Family Crest collection for a gift that carries the name.