Septs of Clan Buchanan

Welcome to the ultimate resource for Clan Buchanan—one of Scotland’s oldest, most historically resilient Highland clans. If you are researching your Scottish ancestry, tracing family septs, or exploring the rich heritage of the Loch Lomond basin, you have come to the right place.

Clan Overview

Unlike many Scottish clans whose names derive solely from a founding patriarch, the surname Buchanan is territorial and ecclesiastical in origin. In Scottish Gaelic, the clan is historically designated as Na Cananaich, meaning "The Canons". The Anglicised name "Buchanan" is derived from the Gaelic Buth Chanain ("the house or seat of the canon") or Mac a Chanonaich ("the son of the canon"). This indicates that the patriarchal ancestors of the clan held hereditary clerical tenure or dedicated service to the ancient Celtic Church in the Loch Lomond basin centuries before the introduction of feudal charters.

The traditional heartland of Clan Buchanan lies on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond in Stirlingshire, within the old Earldom of Lennox. The small island of Clairinch in Loch Lomond served as the clan’s ancient gathering place and is the origin of their famous war cry and slogan: "Clar Innis!" For generations, the historic chiefly seat of the clan was Buchanan Auld House in Stirlingshire, which now stands in ruins. Today, the clan is represented at Cambusmore near Callander, Perthshire, which serves as the estate and current seat of the chief.

The clan's motto is Clarior Hinc Honos (Latin for "Brighter hence the honour"), and its crest badge features a dexter hand holding up a ducal cap proper (or a duke's cornet), tufted on the top with a rose gules, within two wreathed laurel branches disposed orleways.

For over three centuries, Clan Buchanan was an "armigerous clan" without a recognized chief following the death of John Buchanan of that Ilk in 1681. However, following decades of meticulous research by genealogist Hugh Peskett, the chiefly line was successfully traced. In 2018, the Court of the Lord Lyon formally recognized John Michael Baillie-Hamilton Buchanan of that Ilk and Arnprior as The Buchanan, Chief of the Name and Arms of Buchanan. He was ceremonially inaugurated in October 2022, restoring the chiefly line after 337 years.

While traditional clan histories credited Anselan O Kyan—an eleventh-century Irish prince of Ulster said to have landed in Argyll in 1016—as the clan's founder, modern Y-DNA research has disproven this origin myth. Genetic evidence shows that the patriarchal chiefly line belongs to the R1b haplogroup. This links them directly to the indigenous P-Celtic (Brittonic) populations of the ancient Kingdom of Alba, proving the clan was settled on Loch Lomond's shores long before 1000 CE.

The Septs & Their Connections

A sept refers to a family, cadet branch, or allied lineage that historically associated with and followed a dominant clan chief. These alliances formed through blood ties, agricultural tenancy, formal pacts (bonds of manrent), or the anglicisation of Gaelic names. Today, the Clan Chief officially recognizes over 50 septs and allied family names:

  • MacAslan (including McAslan, MacAuslan, MacAusland, Cousland):

    Type of Connection: Biological lineage and ancestral surname.
    Prior to adopting the territorial surname "Buchanan," the early chiefs used the patronymic MacAuselan (meaning "son of Anselan"). When the Seventh Chief, Gilbert, became the first to assume the surname "Buchanan," those branches of the family who retained the older patronymic became the MacAslan sept. Cousland is a Lowland anglicisation of MacAuslan. This is one of the four "approved" core septs recognized in the 1725 constitution of the Buchanan Society.

  • MacColman (including Colman, Coleman, Calman, MacCalmont):

    Type of Connection: Direct blood relation.
    This sept group represents a direct biological branch tracing its descent to Colman, the third son of Anselan MacAuselan (the Seventh Laird of Buchanan) and brother of Gilbert, the first to use the surname Buchanan. Colman's descendants migrated widely, with a major branch settling in Glen Lonan in Argyllshire during the thirteenth-century reign of King Alexander III.

  • Leny (including Lenny, Lennie):

    Type of Connection: Blood relation (marriage) and territorial absorption.
    The ancient Leny family held Perthshire estates long before the age of feudal charters. Their possession was traditionally symbolised by sacred totems: a small silver sword and a preserved tooth of Saint Fillan. In 1392, the Leny male line ended when Janet de Lany, sole heiress, married John de Buchanan (a younger son of Sir Walter Buchanan, Eleventh Chief). This union created the senior cadet branch Buchanan of Leny, absorbing the Leny lands and its regional inhabitants into the wider clan structure.

  • MacKinlay (including Mackinley, McKinlay):

    Type of Connection: Blood relation (cadet branch).
    The MacKinlays of the Lennox district descend directly from Finlay, who is believed to be the third son of Robert, second Laird of the Buchanan of Drumikill cadet line. Because "MacKinlay" translates from the Gaelic Mac Fhionnlaigh as simply "son of Finlay," families of this name from outside the Lennox may be septs of Farquharson, MacFarlane, or Stewart of Appin depending on their geographic origin. The most notable MacKinlay was William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States.

  • Risk:

    Type of Connection: Blood relation and geographical origin.
    This is one of the four core septs officially recognized by the 1725 Glasgow constitution of the Buchanan Society. According to clan historian William Buchanan of Auchmar, a younger son of the Buchanan of Drumikill cadet line was born upon the "Risks of Drymen". He subsequently received his surname from his boggy birthplace, derived from the Gaelic riasg, meaning "wet, boggy ground where coarse grass grows".

  • Spittel (including Spittal, Spittle):

    Type of Connection: Blood relation and occupational status.
    This sept traces its ancestry to a younger son of Sir Maurice Buchanan, Tenth Chief, during the thirteenth-century reign of King Alexander III. He assumed the surname "Spittel" because he was admitted to the Knights Templar. The order held extensive hospital lands (known as spittals) to provide shelter and hospitality to pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.

  • Harper (including MacChruiter, MacWhirter, MacWhorter):

    Type of Connection: Occupational service.
    The Harpers were an occupational sept of musicians and court harpists who served the Earls of Lennox and the Chiefs of Clan Buchanan. MacChruiter is the Gaelic patronymic (derived from cruit, meaning harp), while "Harper" is the Old English equivalent. Over generations, phonetic corruptions of the Gaelic name in municipal rolls and parish records led to the spelling variants MacWhirter and MacWhorter.

  • Watson (including MacWattie, Watt, Watters, Waters):

    Type of Connection: Blood relation (cadet line diminutives).
    This sept group developed from patronymics of Walter (using the diminutive nickname "Wattie"). It is strictly associated with Walter of Leny and the Leny cadet branch. In the Highlands, Watson, MacWattie, and Watt are solely associated with traditional Buchanan lands in Stirlingshire and western Perthshire. MacWattie is another of the four original 1725 "approved" sept names.

  • MacNuyer (including Weir, MacNeur, MacNuir, MacNoyer):

    Type of Connection: Migration and phonetic anglicisation.
    This sept is descended from a branch of the MacAndeoir (Dewar) sept who migrated from traditional Buchanan lands to settle on the shores of Loch Goil. The etymology traces to Macanfhuibhir, translating to "son of the Smith" or "the stranger's son". Over time, this phonetic pronunciation naturally transitioned into the anglicised surname Weir.

  • Dewar (including MacAndeoir, MacIndeor, MacIndoe):

    Type of Connection: Blood relation and territorial migration.
    Derived from the Gaelic deoradh, which means pilgrim, alien, or sojourner. The sept originated when a Laird of Buchanan sent a trusted follower to accompany his daughter to Argyll following her marriage to Campbell of Ardkinglass. Being the sole Buchanan in that territory, he was designated by the local population as the deoradh (alien), and his descendants adopted the surname MacAndeoir.

  • Yule (including Yuille, Zuill, Zuille):

    Type of Connection: Circumstance of birth.
    This unique sept is traced back to a younger son of the Buchanan of Drumikill cadet line who happened to be born on Christmas Day, traditionally celebrated as "Yule".

  • Rusk (including Ruskin):

    Type of Connection: Occupational branch of a sept.
    This name originated as an occupational branch of the Argyllshire MacCalmans (MacColmans). Based near Glen Lonan, they supplied oak bark (rusg) to a local leather tannery. They became known in Gaelic as Na Rusgain (the Ruskins), losing their original patronymic surname to their occupational trade.

Stories & Legends

Sir Alexander Buchanan and the Battle of Baugé (1421)

During the Hundred Years' War, Scotland sent military forces to France to support the French crown against the English invader. At the Battle of Baugé in 1421, Sir Alexander Buchanan—second son of Sir Walter Buchanan, Eleventh Chief—led the clan's warriors into fierce combat. He came face-to-face with the English King's brother, Humphrey, Duke of Clarence.

Piercing the Duke through the left eye with his lance, Sir Alexander slew Clarence and immediately seized the Duke's jewelled gold coronet. Raising the glittering trophy aloft on his spear tip, Buchanan rallied the faltering Scottish and French troops, inflicting heavy casualties on the English forces and carrying the day. Though Sir Alexander was later killed in 1424 leading the clan at the Battle of Verneuil, his exploit is forever immortalised in the Clan Crest, which depicts a hand holding aloft a ducal cap.

John Buchanan of Arnprior: The "King of Kippen"

During the sixteenth century, King James V was famous for traveling the Scottish countryside in disguise under the humble pseudonym the "Goodman of Ballengeich". On one occasion, John Buchanan of Arnprior, a wealthy and grand-living laird, intercepted a shipment of royal venison being carried across his lands to the King's table.

When the royal messengers protested, John boldly declared that if James was King in Edinburgh, he, John, was King in Kippen! Later, King James V decided to visit Arnprior Castle in disguise. Turned away at the gates by John’s guards, the King sent a royal messenger inside with a note: "Tell the King of Kippen that the Goodman of Ballengeich has come to feast." Upon realizing his massive blunder, John of Arnprior fell to his knees, begging the King's forgiveness. Amused by the laird's boldness, the King pardoned him and sat down to feast with him, forever securing John's colorful title in Scottish lore.

Tartan & Dress

All members of officially recognized septs are fully entitled to wear the traditional Buchanan tartan. The Buchanan tartan is famous for being one of the most vibrant and visually striking patterns in the Highlands. The sett was first officially recorded by the celebrated weavers, Wilsons of Bannockburn, around the year 1800.

Modern kilt-wearers can choose from several officially recognized pattern variations:

  • Ancient: Featuring softer, lighter shades that mimic the organic, vegetable-based dyes used in medieval times.
  • Modern: Woven with bold, vivid, chemically dyed colors.
  • Hunting: Dominated by greens and muted tones, designed for camouflage during outdoor activities.

Because several sept names share historic roots with other clans (for instance, the MacKinlays have branches in Farquharson, MacFarlane, and Appin Stewart, while the Lenys are also claimed as a sept of Clan MacMillan), sept members are also entitled to wear the tartans of those allied clans, depending on which geographical branch they trace their lineage back to.

References

  • Buchanan, William of Auchmar (1723). An Historical and Genealogical Essay Upon the Family and Surname of Buchanan. Glasgow.
  • Guthrie Smith, John (1896). Strathendrick and its Inhabitants from Early Times. Glasgow: James Maclehose and Son.
  • McGregor, Gordon. The Red Book of Scotland, Volume 3 (Buch – Cam).
  • Adam, Frank & Innes of Learney, Thomas (1975). The Clans, Septs and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands. Stirling: Johnston and Bacon.
  • Court of the Lord Lyon (2018). Official Petition of John Michael Baillie-Hamilton Buchanan of that Ilk for the Chiefship of Clan Buchanan.
  • Clan Buchanan Society International (CBSI) Y-DNA Project Research Findings.
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