Tartan Finder

How to read a result

The finder looks your search up in the records on this site and lists every clan and tartan those records tie to the name. It does not search the internet or a registry, and it never guesses a link that no record states.

Each link carries one of four labels, written out so you do not have to rely on colour:

• Verified: a high-grade source, such as a registry or an archive, states the link directly.
• Probable: reputable sources support the link, but not conclusively. This is the usual label for a surname and the clan that shares its name.
• Uncertain: the link rests on tradition, on one weak source, or on sources that disagree.
• Listed, not graded: another record names the link, but nobody has graded it yet.

Under each link you will see the sources it relies on and their evidence level. The methodology page explains the levels.

What a match does and does not mean

A surname that appears in a clan record shows that someone has recorded the connection. It does not show that a particular person descends from that clan. Many surnames arose in several places, spellings changed over time, and some families took a name for reasons that were not about blood. A tartan name is a different question again: who may wear a tartan depends on the tartan, not on your surname alone. The guide to who can wear which tartan covers that.

When nothing is found

If a surname has no recorded association, the finder says so. That describes the records here, which are still limited, and not the history of the name. Spelling variants are handled for you: Mac, Mc and M’ prefixes, spacing and accents are ignored, so Mackenzie, McKenzie and Mac Kenzie return the same entries. Other variants, such as a spelling that was anglicised from Gaelic, are found only if the record lists them as an alternative name.

For a name that is not in the finder, the guide on how to find your family tartan sets out where to look next and what each kind of evidence can support.