Scottish equivalent of "Smith"

[timseh]

I've been doing some research recently and I seem to have hit a wall.
Short version: I'd like to discover what clan I'm "connected to" so I can obtain a Kilt in the proper Tartan. I'm wearing the "USMC Leatherneck" for my wedding as it is, after all, my adopted Clan, being a Marine and all... but my last name is Harbison. From what I can tell, the name could be connected to probably 10 or 20 different clans! ***! It seems we just bred like lemmings and spread all over the globe!

At this point, I'd just about welcome any reasonable attachment to just about any clan for which I can obtain a reasonably priced kilt and call it a day. Aside from the Leatherneck and a family Tartan, I'm leaning toward sticking to modern (e.g. utilikilt) Kilts. I don't want to build a collection of generic Tartans, just because it feels wrong to me to wear something I have no connection to. Ya dig?

Forgive me. I've been having a long talk with my friend Captain Morgan tonight...

Anyone have anything at all that links the Harbison name to a specific Clan?

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. I'm still somewhat new at it.

From what I can tell, I'm related to roughly 30% of Scotland and I'm ready to just throw my hands in the air.

[Phogfan86]

I can't find "Harbison" anywhere in my frequently-used sites for this kind of stuff.

But my surname, while it is a sept of Gunn, Mackey and Macduff, is English. I have to go back a few generations -- okay, a bunch -- before I find surnames and locations that connect me to a clan.

I was able to find that Harbison is probably an English name, but Harbison and the names Herbertson, Herbeson and Harbertson were recorded in Argyle in the 11th and 12th century. They were also documented in the Irish province of Ulster from the early 16th century.

You may need to do some digging, lad. Maybe try and link Harbisons/Herbertsons/Herbesons/Harbertsons to clans that could be found in Argyle. The Captain will guide you well.

[Cynthia]

Sorry I can't help... I just know the frustration with searching. Moore has been a hard one for me to research: it's on both my parents' sides!! On top of it all, I finally found more info on my last name (Griffith), and one of them (relative of my ancestor) married a Moore! Augh! I can't seem to get away from that name even when I'm trying to avoid it for a break (not sure that one is related to any of my Moores, but who knows).

Good luck with your search!

[Riverkilt]

There's a Harbison Canyon just East of San Diego with a Harbison Canyon Road....so maybe a California tartan....?

Ron

[gilmore]

There are only two ways to discover with certainty which clan your Harbison ancestors may have been associated with. One is the slow, laborious but exacting method of going backward in time, one generation at a time, carefully documenting one generation before moving on to his parents.

The other method is Y chromosome DNA testing, which may or may not yield results. It is likely, however, to tell you who you are NOT related to, and that can be helpful. Take a look at the FAQ at www.familytreedna.com

[The Wizard of BC]

I've been hoping some of our more academic members would chime in on this topic.
Now please understand I'm not a scholar of Scottish History I just make Kilts. But because I get just this sort of question almost every week I've had to read a lot.
I am going to over simplify my explanation and try to make it understandable. I'm not going to use all the proper terms and I'm not going to quote dates. I'll leave that to those who have studied this subject a lot more than I have.

Timseh, I think you are operating under a bit of misinformation or belief here. Yes, the clans were named for the chief. Yes, members of the chief's family would be members of his clan.

But the clan system was not based solely on family and names. It was feudalism. A Lord owned land. Under the lord were some knights who formed the lords standing army. Then there were merchants and tradespeople who worked for the lord and provided goods and services. Then there were serfs who worked the land providing the food and livestock. All these people were in and came under the lord's clan. Most of them were not from, or part of, his family but they were members of the clan. If the clan and the clan lands were threatened all would come to the defense.

The McDonalds for example had clan members who were named and did the job of Millers and Smiths and Fletchers. So did every other clan as did the cities and the lowlands and borders. Just because you last name now is Miller does not mean you must find the Miller Tartan or know which Clan the Millers belonged to.

So it's not about names. It's not just about family. It's about where you lived, who you sworn allegiance to, who you agreed to help, work for, or serve.

The Highland Clan system that everyone romances about was effectively dead a couple of hundred years before the Kilt as we know it, and named Tartans, were invented. So it's a moot point really.

In the days when the Clan system was active Named Tartans did not exist. If you wanted to show membership in a Clan you wore the Plant Badge of the Clan.

If your genealogical research can trace your family back to a specific region of the Scottish Highlands then perhaps you can feel some connection to the Clan from that region. But to think that that Clan must be found and that only that Clan is the right one I'm afraid is just not correct.

I hope some others will join in this and use the proper terms. But to me the whole belief that there is one and only one Clan that I can say is "mine" just does not fit with the facts.
I find that this whole idea of "My Clan" is somewhat akin to the "My Family Coat of Arms" sort of thinking. Both are the product of a lot of misinformation.

[Highlander31]

You may have already tried this, but I thought I would mention it just in case you hadn't. My wife and I were able to use the stories passed down through the family to confirm and fill in holes in the information we found on ancestors.com. That gave us contacts in Scotland to continue the search.

As for tartans, how about the XMTS tartan? After all, we are a clan.

[ThistleDown]

I've been hoping some of our more academic members would chime in on this topic.
Now please understand I'm not a scholar of Scottish History I just make Kilts. But because I get just this sort of question almost every week I've had to read a lot.
I am going to over simplify my explanation and try to make it understandable. I'm not going to use all the proper terms and I'm not going to quote dates. I'll leave that to those who have studied this subject a lot more than I have.

Timseh, I think you are operating under a bit of misinformation or belief here. Yes, the clans were named for the chief. Yes, members of the chief's family would be members of his clan.

But the clan system was not based solely on family and names. It was feudalism. A Lord owned land. Under the lord were some knights who formed the lords standing army. Then there were merchants and tradespeople who worked for the lord and provided goods and services. Then there were serfs who worked the land providing the food and livestock. All these people were in and came under the lord's clan. Most of them were not from, or part of, his family but they were members of the clan. If the clan and the clan lands were threatened all would come to the defense.

The McDonalds for example had clan members who were named and did the job of Millers and Smiths and Fletchers. So did every other clan as did the cities and the lowlands and borders. Just because you last name now is Miller does not mean you must find the Miller Tartan or know which Clan the Millers belonged to.

So it's not about names. It's not just about family. It's about where you lived, who you sworn allegiance to, who you agreed to help, work for, or serve.

The Highland Clan system that everyone romances about was effectively dead a couple of hundred years before the Kilt as we know it, and named Tartans, were invented. So it's a moot point really.

In the days when the Clan system was active Named Tartans did not exist. If you wanted to show membership in a Clan you wore the Plant Badge of the Clan.

If your genealogical research can trace your family back to a specific region of the Scottish Highlands then perhaps you can feel some connection to the Clan from that region. But to think that that Clan must be found and that only that Clan is the right one I'm afraid is just not correct.

I hope some others will join in this and use the proper terms. But to me the whole belief that there is one and only one Clan that I can say is "mine" just does not fit with the facts.
I find that this whole idea of "My Clan" is somewhat akin to the "My Family Coat of Arms" sort of thinking. Both are the product of a lot of misinformation.

Oh dear, I foresee a whole thread of disagreement forthcoming.

[Phil]

So it's not about names. It's not just about family. It's about where you lived, who you sworn allegiance to, who you agreed to help, work for, or serve.

As the Wizard says it's not about names. The clan system, when it existed, was organised a bit like the Mafia to giva a modern-day analogy. The Chief was the godfather and he controlled the lands in his territory. Under him were a number of close relatives who would have managed the day-to-day "protection rackets" i.e. collecting rents from a variety of people who rented a bit of land from him and , in return, they ensured that none of the neighbouring clansmen from other clans murdered, raped or pillaged on the Chief's lands. If there was an attack they would raise the clansmen into an army by lighting fiery crosses across the lands which acted as a signal to the clansmen to gather. None, or very few, of these tenants would have been related to, or have the same name as the Chief and his family but they would have been clan members nevertheless.

[highlander_Daz]

I think your falling into the trap of looking backwards, not all people of specific surnames were clansman, its not a certainty that you ancesters had any kind of clan association, why not look at your modern family and circumstances, you have your military associations for a tartan , remember your at the bottom of a huge triangle of ancestors, Sir Sean Connery wears his mothers Tartan, and with respect if its good enough for him!!

establish where you relatives resided or reside now there are plenty of regional tartans ,

if your ancestors were lowland folk then they would not have worn the kilt at all, bear in mind at one time lowland folk were as likely to wear the kilt as dallas cowboys fans are as likely to wear a miami dolpins shirt.