207 items

• Balvenie Castle History, Clan Comyn Origins & Speyside Heritage

  Balvenie Castle stands above the River Fiddich near Dufftown in Speyside — one of Scotland's oldest surviving courtyard castles, built by the Comyn earls of Buchan in the thirteenth century...

• Dunmore History & Origins: The Forth Valley, Lord Dunmore of Virginia & the Pineapple at Airth

  Only four people in Scotland were called Dunmore in 1901, yet the name runs through American history. We separate the Forth valley place-name from the Murray earldom, John Murray's Virginia...

• Dunstaffnage Castle History, Clan MacDougall Origins & the Gateway to the Highlands

  Dunstaffnage Castle stands on a rocky promontory above the Firth of Lorn near Oban — one of the oldest and most historically significant castles in Scotland, built by the MacDougalls...

• Clan Falconer History, Motto & Origins: Royal Falconers, Halkerton Castle & Scottish Heritage

  Discover the history, motto, and origins of Clan Falconer — hereditary royal falconers of the Scottish crown, rooted at Halkerton Castle in the Mearns of Kincardineshire, bearers of the motto...

• Clan Arbuthnott History, Motto & Origins: The Mearns, Kincardineshire & Scottish Heritage

  Discover the history of Clan Arbuthnott — their ancient origins in The Mearns of Kincardineshire, the motto Laus Deo meaning Praise be to God, Arbuthnott Kirk, notable figures, and Scottish...

• Bertram Surname History: Norman Origins and a Scottish Lowland Legacy

  Bertram traces to Norman barons of Mitford, Northumberland, not Scotland - but a Lanarkshire branch built a genuine Scottish legacy from the 1600s onward.

• Durham History & Origins: Grange-Durham in Angus, Largo in Fife & the Trafalgar Admiral

  Durham came north from the English city in the 1200s and became Scottish twice over: Grange-Durham in Angus from 1322, and Largo in Fife from 1662, home of the Trafalgar...

• Clan Livingstone History, Motto & Origins: West Lothian, Callendar House & Scottish Heritage

  Clan Livingstone is one of the distinguished families of the Scottish central Lowlands, their name rooted in West Lothian and their history closely bound to the royal court of Scotland...

• Clan Burnett History, Motto & Origins: Crathes Castle, Royal Foresters & Scottish Heritage

  Discover the history, motto, and origins of Clan Burnett — a proud Aberdeenshire family, keepers of Crathes Castle, Royal Foresters of Drum, and bearers of the powerful motto Virescit Vulnere...

• Syme History & Origins: James Syme the Surgeon, Burns's Friend & a Scots Form of Simon

  James Syme kept the heel pad in 1843 and gave his name to an operation still performed today. Here he is alongside John Syme of Dumfries, Burns's closest friend, and...

• Clan Guthrie History, Motto & Origins: Guthrie Castle, Royal Treasurers & Scottish Heritage

  Discover the history, motto, and origins of Clan Guthrie — an Angus family documented since 1199, Royal Treasurers of Scotland, keepers of Guthrie Castle, and bearers of the morally demanding...

• Webster Irish Surname: History, Origins & Heritage of an Ulster-Scots Family

  Webster is an English and Scottish weaver's surname, not a Gaelic-Irish one — here's how it took root in Ulster and where the records still find it today.

• Sandeman History & Origins: Perth Roots, the Port House of 1790 & the Sandemanians

  Four Sandemans out of one Perth burgh: the merchant who founded a port house in London in 1790, the theologian who gave his name to a sect, the man who...

• MacKenzie Shaw: Two Highland Names, Not One Clan — Kintail, Tordarroch & How Compound Surnames Form

  MacKenzie Shaw is a compound surname, not a clan. Clan Mackenzie belongs to Kintail and Clan Shaw of Tordarroch to Clan Chattan, and Shaw is not a Mackenzie sept. Here...

• Clan Elphinstone History, Motto & Origins: Aberdeenshire, Bishop Elphinstone & Scottish Heritage

  Discover the history, motto, and origins of Clan Elphinstone — an Aberdeenshire family whose most celebrated son, Bishop William Elphinstone, founded the University of Aberdeen in 1495 and compiled the...

• The Battle of Sauchieburn 1488: The Day a King Fell and James IV Rose

  On 11 June 1488, a Scottish king rode into battle carrying the sword of Robert the Bruce — and by nightfall his fifteen-year-old son was King James IV. The story...

• Alcock Irish Surname Meaning, History and Origins

  Discover the history of the Alcock surname in Ireland, including its English origins, Irish records, variant spellings, and regional family story.

• Logan in Scotland: Ayrshire Records, Crest & the Search for a Chief

  Scottish Logan records include a 1296 seal and the Logans of that Ilk in Ayrshire. Their heart-and-nail crest is recorded in 1672; the modern name has a commander while a...

• Bethune Scottish Surname History: From Flanders to the Lairds of Balfour

  Bethune traces to Flemish Béthune, but became a true Scottish name in Fife — home to Cardinal Beaton, an armigerous clan, and Mary Beaton of the Four Marys.

• Clan Ramsay: History, Motto & Dalhousie Castle, Midlothian

  From the arrival of Simund de Ramesie in Lothian to Dalhousie Castle, the Declaration of Arbroath, and the poet and painter Allan Ramsay: explore the family’s Scottish history, unicorn crest,...

• Richardson Irish Surname: History, Origins & Heritage of an Armagh Family

  Richardson arrived in Ireland as an English name, but in Ulster it became a Quaker linen name tied to the model village of Bessbrook, County Armagh.

• Here Before America Was America — The Scottish Clans Who Came First

  Before the Declaration of Independence. Before the Revolutionary War. Before the United States of America existed as a nation, Scottish clan families were already here — farming the land, building...

• Duncan Surname History: Origins & Clan Donnachaidh

  Duncan comes from the Gaelic personal name Donnchadh and is included among names associated with Clan Donnachaidh. Explore the surname’s origin, Atholl connection and design motto.

• Barbour Scottish Surname History: Origins, the Poet Who Wrote The Bruce & Heritage

  Barbour began as a Scottish occupational name for a barber, made famous by poet John Barbour, author of The Brus, and later a Virginia political dynasty.