Clan Johnstone is a historic Scottish Border family whose power base lay in Annandale, Dumfriesshire. Johnstone, Johnston, and Johnstoun all appear in the records, giving family historians a valuable group of spellings for tracing the clan’s branches and migrations.
Follow the regional story: the long rivalry with Clan Maxwell and the neighboring Jardines of Applegarth place the Johnstones in their Border setting. Families whose records lead through Ulster can continue with our separate guide to Scots-Irish migration to America.
Clan Johnstone at a glance
- Historic heartland: Annandale in Dumfriesshire
- Historic seat: Lochwood Castle
- Traditional motto: Nunquam Non Paratus, “Never unprepared”
- Current chief listing: the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs lists Johnstone under The Earl of Annandale and Hartfell
- Major conflict: the feud with the Maxwells, including Dryfe Sands in 1593
- Name forms: Johnstone, Johnston and older Johnstoun occur, but records—not spelling rules—establish ancestry
For gifts using either family spelling, browse the Johnston and Johnstone Scottish heritage collection.
Where does the Johnstone name come from?
Johnstone is a territorial name, conventionally understood as “John’s town.” The Annandale family is documented in medieval south-west Scotland, where the valley of the River Annan formed an important route through the western Borders.
Surname spelling was not fixed. A single person or family may appear under more than one form, while unrelated lines can share the same spelling. Scotland’s People therefore recommends variant searching. Researchers should include Johnstone and Johnston and, when the evidence warrants it, forms such as Johnstoun or Johnson.
What was Lochwood Castle?
Historic Environment Scotland identifies Lochwood as the principal seat of the Johnstone family from the late twelfth century until the early eighteenth century. The site combines a motte-and-bailey with a later stone castle. Its surviving tower is a large fifteenth-century L-plan building with courtyards and service ranges.
The castle was accidentally burned in the early eighteenth century. The Raehills estate record says the 1st Marquess of Annandale left Lochwood around 1720 and the family moved to Newbie Castle near Annan. Raehills became the later Hope-Johnstone seat: James Hope-Johnstone commissioned its mansion and landscape after succeeding to the Annandale and Hartfell line in 1792. These are successive centers of the family story, not interchangeable names for the same residence.
What happened in the Maxwell–Johnstone feud?
During the sixteenth century the Johnstones and Maxwells competed for influence in the Scottish West March, and chiefs of both families served as wardens. The conflict reached a decisive point at Dryfe Sands near Lockerbie on 6 December 1593, when Sir James Johnstone’s force defeated Lord Maxwell’s larger army and Maxwell was killed.
Dryfe Sands did not end the feud. In 1608 a meeting intended to reconcile Sir James Johnstone and the next Lord Maxwell ended with Maxwell shooting and killing Johnstone. Maxwell fled but was later captured and executed in Edinburgh. Presenting both events preserves the chronology instead of implying that the 1593 battle closed the rivalry.
How did the Johnstone titles develop?
The title sequence involved several generations. James Johnstone was created Lord Johnstone of Lochwood in 1633 and Earl of Hartfell in 1643. His son, also James, succeeded as 2nd Earl of Hartfell and received a new grant as Earl of Annandale and Hartfell after the Restoration. That younger James’s son William became 2nd Earl of Annandale and Hartfell and was created 1st Marquess of Annandale in 1701.
William was followed by his sons James, 2nd Marquess, and George, 3rd Marquess. After George died in 1792, the marquessate became dormant, while the 1662 limitation supported the earldom’s later descent through the Hope-Johnstone family. Historic Environment Scotland records Patrick Hope-Johnstone’s 1985 recognition as Earl of Annandale and Hartfell, and the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs lists the Earl as Chief of Johnstone. The living earldom and dormant marquessate are therefore distinct parts of the title history.
What does Nunquam Non Paratus mean?
Nunquam Non Paratus, “Never Unprepared,” is the motto of the Johnstone chief’s heraldic tradition. Paired with the winged-spur family crest, it is one of the clan’s most distinctive and enduring identifiers.
Johnston migration through Ulster and beyond
Many Johnston families settled in Ulster, and later generations continued to North America and beyond. Scottish, Ulster, and overseas records can reveal whether that migration route belongs to a particular Johnston or Johnstone line.
Begin with the most recent documented ancestor. Scottish statutory and church records can carry the line through Scotland; Irish civil, church, land, and census-substitute sources can follow families who settled in Ulster; American records can then trace later migration. Linking each generation and place reveals the full Johnston or Johnstone journey.