As President of the Clan Buchanan Society International I can tell you the issue of septs and other associated family names is one we have taken on very seriously for about the last 10 years through historical research, ydna studies and our own genealogists. Our website presents summaries of that research to help potential clan folk to make a reasonable decision, are you or are you not a member of the clan? Note: The Clan Buchanan lists about 50 family names as part of the Clan not counting spelling variations which can number in the hundreds.
https://www.theclanbuchanan.com/about
We acknowledge that for many names we have not yet found out why some lists associated them with us - many of those books and lists have already been mentioned. Our Chief has made the determination that he will accept the names on our list which is contained on our website (quite a few names have been removed over the years). We make no assertion for many of the names found on "coat of arms" bric-a-brac websites.
When contacted by individuals (which happens every day) we try to be as forthcoming as possible. For instance one common name that comes up quite often is Watt. We have very definite links for the name with the Buchanan of Leny cadet line of the clan and they were predominately found in Stirlingshire and Perthshire, especially near the Leny River area. But there is a smaller but well documented Watt group which originated up in Aberdeenshire in the lands traditionally associated with the Forbes Clan. If it seems that a family originated in that area we suggest that they explore that relationship.
As ydna databases grow, the male lines become more reliably identified. Unfortunately the Ydna 111 tests are still pricy and only follow male ancestral lines.
I should also mention that many other clan societies that we collaborate with are making similar efforts to present more reliable information. The days of the 1970's when any name in a book got you into a clan or clan society are slowly being done away with.
Regards
CTBuchanan
President, Clan Buchanan Society International
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