Which family tartan

[###KILTEDKIWI###]

and a man marrying into a clan may have taken on the name of that clan the same as his partner.

That is quite a common practise for middle names, i.e my grandfather was Colin Murray Cunningham - his mother was a Murray, for a different example my grandfathers father was Alexander MacRae Mcleod - he married Annie MacRae and took on her surname as a middle name etc etc etc...

[Roan Carter]

Heraldry and clan stuff goes through the male line.

She was probably confused about Scotch culture. Ancient Scottish Picts were matrilineal. HIghlanders of the late medieval and early modern periods, from which most kilting traditions arose, were patrilineal.

[Dr Mac]

FWIW, I agree with Jock Scot.

[FreakPower70]

Ok, so here is the bit. My family is Canadian but further back we are kind of from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. I do not know as much as I would like about my family right now (family trees have been made I am in the process of asking about them). My Mother's name is Nevins, which seems to be linked to MacNaughton. My father's name -and mine obviously - is Owens. I was told that while they lived in England before coming to Canada they had lived in Wales generations back.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

The first principle is that there are no rules that dictate what tartan you choose to wear. The common practice is, of course, to select a tartan that you feel some connection to and usually that is a tartan that represents your heritage.

All things being equal, the usual practice is to wear a tartan that connects to your surname, as this is the name you actually bear. It just makes sense for Mr. McGregor to wear the MacGregor tartan, and Mr. Macdonald to wear the MacDonald tartan, etc.

This would mean wearing a tartan from the patrilineal side, obviously, because in most cases the surname we bear comes down to us from our fathers.

However, there are many reasons why someone might choose to wear a tartan from the mother's side. What if your father's side were English and your mother's side Scottish, for instance? Or what if you have to go back 4 generations on your father's side to get to a clan connection, but only 2 generations on your mother's side? What if you are estranged from your father's family, but really quite close to your mother's family? Point being, the choice of what tartan to wear is your own, and really you should feel comfortable wearing a tartan from either side of your family. As I tell people, you are just as related to your mother as to your father!

But if you ask what the norm is, it is to wear a tartan that relates to your surname, which will generally represent your father's side.

[The Kilted Reverend]

My Celtic link comes from my mother's side in that my surname from my Dad is German. So I wear the Black Watch tartan for my Harris line in me.

Slainte,
TKR

[O'Callaghan]

My case is similar - my main Scottish line is from my mother, with my father's side being primarily English. So I had a tartan designed in his family name.

I also only have celts on my mother's side, although Irish in my case, my father's side being entirely English AFAIK. I don't think I'd design my own tartan, though. I'm content to stick to ones that represent my mother's side.

I could wear St. George's tartan, of course, but have no cheap source for a kilt in that sett. There is a tartan for an American high school and another one commemorating a Canadian politician with my last name, but I think if I wore one of those it would only be good for a joke, and an expensive one at that. There are also Scottish district tartans for my last name, but no evidence that anyone on that side ever came from Scotland, so no reason to wear them.

Of course, there aren't any tartans for most Irish names, but there is a Callaghan tartan, albeit it's very recent. Most Irish names aren't associated with any Irish clan either, but there is an O'Callaghan clan with a chief. I'm fairly sure the tartan is not approved by the chief, but that wouldn't stop me, what actually stops me is the price per yard! There are tartans for Irish names that aren't part of a clan, and at the same time there are Irish clans that have no tartan. Also, instead of septs with different last names being part of a clan, there are merely people who took the clan last name and were not related, which I always have to wonder may include my own ancestors. The clan system in Ireland was not precisely the same as in Scotland, and traditionally Irish kilts were not tartan anyway.

[Carolina Kiltman]

In my case, my Mother was a MacLaine of Lochbuie. Her Mother was French, with a Scots Mother (Boyd). There was also a Paternal Grandmother who was a Boyd. . .

My surname is English, but two of my Great Grandmothers, on my Father's side, were Scots, Ross and Leslie (my middle name). I wear the MoL, simply because it is the most recent.

If you do not have a compelling reason to wear any particular tartan, just pick one you have a connexion to and wear it.

[LewisG]

My surname is English, as are many of the surnames on both my paternal and maternal sides of the family. However I have Scottish surnames on both sides. My first kilt is in the tartan of my maternal grandfather, the first Scottish name going up the family tree. However, I would like to eventually get kilts in all of my ancestral tartans on both sides of the family. The more Scottish names, the more opportunities for kilts.

[Downix]

I'm mixed scottish, irish, english and native american, so I really get an eclectic mix. Add to that the man that's raised me since I was 3 months old is a Stewart of Appin, makes for an interesting selection of tartans.