Scottish clan
Clan Ross
Gaelic name Clann Anndrais
A clan of Easter Ross descended, in its society's account, from Ferquhard MacIntagart, 'son of the priest', made Earl of Ross about 1226, with its chiefly seat at Balnagown. The earldom and the chiefship later separated, and the chiefship passed to the Shandwick line. The society's history page names a chief who, according to Wikipedia, died in 2024, so the two sources read do not agree on who is chief.
No photograph is held for this record.
- Region
- Ross-shire
- Historic seat
- Balnagown Castle
- Motto
- Spem Successus Alit
- Linked tartans
- 0
- Linked surnames
- 0
- Recorded septs
- 5
- Evidence level
- B
Overview
Clan Ross (Gaelic Clann Anndrais, also Na Rosaich) is a clan of Ross-shire. The motto, as Wikipedia gives it, is Spem Successus Alit, 'success nourishes hope', and the plant badge it names is juniper or bearberry. The historical seat is Balnagown Castle, and the society that runs ClanRossAmerica says it has represented the clan in the United States since 1976.
Who the present chief is depends on the source: the society's history page names David Campbell Ross, while Wikipedia says he died in 2024 and that Fiona Campbell Ross has been recognised since.
The ClanRossAmerica history page says Clan Ross began in northern Scotland between Dingwall and Tain, that Ross became a separate earldom in the mid-twelfth century, and that Ferquhard of the Ó Beólláin family, known as MacIntagart, 'son of the priest', was the true founder of the clan and was made Earl of Ross around 1226.
Origins
The society calls Ferquhard MacIntagart, 'son of the priest', the true founder of the clan and says he was made Earl of Ross about 1226; Wikipedia calls him Fearchar Mac an t-Sagairt, descended from the hereditary abbots of Applecross, and has him an earl by 1234. The society's page says the background of the first earl's kindred is a general consensus, not a settled fact, and that the origin of Máel Coluim is the subject of some controversy.
It also says a nominal grant of the title was made in 1161 to Floris III of Holland and seems not to have been passed on. When William, the sixth earl, died without male heirs, Wikipedia says the earldom and the chiefship separated, and Hugh Ross of Rariches received a charter for Balnagown in 1374.
Development
Wikipedia gives a run of dated engagements: Bannockburn in 1314, Halidon Hill in 1333, Harlaw in 1411 on the side of the Lord of the Isles, a victory over the Mackays at Tarbat in 1486, Flodden in 1513, Carbisdale in 1650 and Worcester in 1651. It also records disagreements: whether Clan Sutherland sided with the Mackays at Aldy Charrish, and how Andrew Munro of Milntown died. The Clan Cameron association's list of battles names a Raid on Ross in 1491 without detail.
The society says the chiefship went to the Shandwick line, descended from William Ross killed in 1486, and that the Rosses of Pitcalnie claimed it in 1957 without saying how that was resolved. Balnagown, begun in 1375 on the society's account, passed to the Lockhart-Ross family in 1755 and to Mohamed Al-Fayed in 1972.
Wikipedia adds earlier and later detail from the same family history. It says the first earl's son William was abducted around 1250 and rescued with help from the Munros, that the Earl of Ross was captured at Dunbar in 1296 and that Ross men fought at Bannockburn in 1314 alongside Robert the Bruce. It places a Ross force at Verneuil in France in 1424, says 100 Ross men occupied Castle Leod in 1689, that the clan retreated before a Jacobite force at the skirmish of Alness in 1715, that Ross men were in a government company at Glen Shiel in 1719 and that Colonel Charles Ross was killed at Fontenoy in 1745.
The same article names the Mackenzies, Mathesons and Macraes, and in the fifteenth century the Mackays, as rivals, and the Munros as allies. It calls the Mackay victory at Aldy Charrish, in which it says the Ross chief was killed, undated. These are one secondary source's statements and were not checked against the printed works it cites.
Tartans
No Ross tartan is held as a record on this site because the register threadcounts could not be read from an open primary source. Wikipedia names Ross Red, Ross Dress and Ross Hunting in several versions; the register entries were not checked.
Septs
The society's history page has no surname list; its list of clan branches (Balnagown, Shandwick, Pitcalnie and others) names families, not surnames. Wikipedia lists septs including Anderson, Corbett, Dingwall, Gillanders, MacCulloch, Tulloch and Vass, citing printed works not seen. Five of those are recorded here as uncertain links: Gillanders, MacCulloch, Tulloch, Dingwall and Vass. The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs says there is no central register of septs and that each chief decides.
Check before repeating
Misconceptions
The Ross name does not come from a single founder as often told: the society itself says the first earl's origin is controversial. The earldom and the chiefship were not the same thing after the sixth earl, when they separated. A person named Ross, Gillanders or Tulloch is not shown by these sources to descend from the chiefly line.
Who can wear
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs says there are no strict rules on who may wear a tartan and that wearing a clan tartan signals allegiance to the chief. The American society invites people to join; that is not a rule about tartan.
Not established
What the record does not show
The Lord Lyon's record of the present chief was not seen, and the two sources read disagree on who is chief. The date of Ferquhard's earldom differs between the society and Wikipedia. The Ross tartans and their dates were not read. The Wikipedia sept list was not checked at its printed sources.
Surnames and septs
No Ross surname page is published on this site yet; it would need an independently sourced account of the name. The septs above are Wikipedia's selection and are recorded as uncertain.
Historical notes
The ClanRossAmerica history page says Clan Ross began in northern Scotland between Dingwall and Tain, that Ross became a separate earldom in the mid-twelfth century, and that Ferquhard of the Ó Beólláin family, known as MacIntagart, 'son of the priest', was the true founder of the clan and was made Earl of Ross around 1226. It says the origin of Máel Coluim, the first earl, is the subject of some controversy.
Evidence level C. Sources: [1]
Wikipedia gives the first recorded chief as Fearchar, called Mac an t-Sagairt, descended from the hereditary abbots of Applecross, who helped Alexander II suppress a rebellion and was Earl of Ross by 1234. The society page gives about 1226 for the earldom, so the two differ on the date.
The society says the chiefship passed to the Shandwick line, descended from William Ross, killed in battle in 1486, that the American society names David Campbell Ross as chief with no date of succession, and that the Rosses of Pitcalnie made a claim to the chiefship in 1957 whose outcome the page does not give.
Evidence level C. Sources: [1]
Wikipedia says David Campbell Ross of Ross and Balnagowan was chief until his death in 2024 and that Fiona Campbell Ross of Ross and Balnagowan has since been recognised as chief by the Lord Lyon. The society page read was not updated for this, and the Lord Lyon's record was not seen.
Evidence level D. Sources: [2]
The society says Balnagown Castle, eight miles north-east of Alness, was begun in 1375, was the home of the Ross chiefs for several hundred years, passed to the Lockhart-Ross family in 1755 and was bought by Mohamed Al-Fayed in 1972.
Evidence level C. Sources: [1]
Wikipedia dates Ross events to Bannockburn in 1314, Halidon Hill in 1333, Harlaw in 1411, the victory over the Mackays at Tarbat in 1486, Flodden in 1513, Carbisdale in 1650 and Worcester in 1651. It records an unresolved disagreement over whether Clan Sutherland sided with the Mackays at Aldy Charrish, and that the nearest record of Harlaw does not name the Earl of Mar.
Evidence level D. Sources: [2]
Dates named in the notes
Each line is the opening sentence of a historical note above that names a single year. The year is the one the source gives; it has not been checked independently here.
The ClanRossAmerica history page says Clan Ross began in northern Scotland between Dingwall and Tain, that Ross became a separate earldom in the mid-twelfth century, and that Ferquhard of the Ó Beólláin family, known as MacIntagart, 'son of the priest', was the true founder of the clan and was made Earl of Ross around 1226.
Evidence level C. Sources: [1]
Wikipedia gives the first recorded chief as Fearchar, called Mac an t-Sagairt, descended from the hereditary abbots of Applecross, who helped Alexander II suppress a rebellion and was Earl of Ross by 1234.
Wikipedia says David Campbell Ross of Ross and Balnagowan was chief until his death in 2024 and that Fiona Campbell Ross of Ross and Balnagowan has since been recognised as chief by the Lord Lyon.
Evidence level D. Sources: [2]
Septs and associated names
Sept lists differ between clan societies and older sources. Each name below carries the confidence this site can support.
- Gillanders
- MacCulloch
- Tulloch
- Dingwall
- Vass
- Uncertain
- Reported, but the sources are weak or disagree.
Fields missing from this record
Highlands
Other clans recorded in the same area
Chosen only because their records name regions in the same part of Scotland. It is not a claim of kinship or alliance.
No photograph is held for this record.