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Heritage Atlas

Scottish Clans Heraldry

Scotland boasts one of the world's most distinctive heraldic traditions, where each clan carries a singular blazon, a Latin or Gaelic motto, and a crest worn proudly atop the cap badge. This atlas documents the crests and mottos of 214 Scottish clans, from the great Highland kindreds to the Lowland families of the Borders.

The Origins of Scottish Clans

The Scottish clan system emerged in the Middle Ages from a fusion of Gaelic, Norse and Norman traditions. In the Highlands, the clann ("children") referred to the extended kin gathered around a common chief and a shared ancestral land. Lowland families adopted similar structures, though shaped more strongly by feudal tenure and the Crown. By the late medieval period, hundreds of clans and families had crystallised, each with its own territories, allegiances, tartans and heraldic devices.

The catastrophic defeat at Culloden in 1746 marked the end of the clan system as a military and political force. The wearing of Highland dress and clan tartans was banned for nearly four decades, and many chiefs lost their lands and authority. Yet the clans never disappeared. Romantic revivals in the 19th century — driven in part by Walter Scott and the visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822 — restored clan tartans, gatherings and heraldic identities to public life, where they remain a vibrant part of Scottish heritage today.

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The Lord Lyon and Scottish Heraldic Law

Scotland is unique in the world for treating heraldry as a strictly regulated branch of law. The Court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, dating from at least the 14th century, is the oldest heraldic authority still in operation. Unlike in England, arms in Scotland are personal property: every coat of arms is granted to a specific individual, and using arms without authorisation is a criminal offence.

A Scottish clan chief alone bears the undifferenced arms of the clan; members of the clan, the so-called armigers, may bear differenced versions, while ordinary clansfolk display the chief's crest within a belt-and-buckle device — the familiar circular "clan crest badge" worn on the bonnet. This system, known as cadency, ensures that each individual's heraldic identity is unique and traceable.

The Anatomy of a Scottish Crest

A typical Scottish clan crest badge consists of three elements:

  • The crest — a figure (animal, hand, plant, building) placed on top of a torse or wreath, described in heraldic terms like "An oak tree, Proper" (Clan Anderson) or "A boar's head erased Or" (Clan Campbell).
  • The strap and buckle — encircling the crest, indicating that the wearer is a clansperson rather than the chief, who would bear the crest without the belt.
  • The motto — set on the strap, often in Latin (Ne Obliviscaris, "Do Not Forget", Campbell), Gaelic ('S Rioghal Mo Dhream, "My Race is Royal", MacGregor) or Old Scots (I Mak Sikkar, "I Make Sure", Kirkpatrick).

The Auld Alliance — Scottish Clans with French Mottos

From 1295 until 1560, the Auld Alliance bound Scotland and France in a defence pact against their common rival, England. Generations of Scottish chiefs served in the Garde Écossaise of the French kings, intermarried with French nobility, and adopted French — the language of medieval European chivalry — as a mark of aristocratic refinement. Their family mottos still bear witness to this enduring bond:

« Vraye foi »Clan BoswellTrue faith « Tout jour prest »Clan CarmichaelAlways ready « Si je puis »Clan ColquhounIf I can « Oublier ne puis »Clan ColvilleI cannot forget « J'ai bonne esperance »Clan CraigI have good hope « Jamais arrière »Clan DouglasNever behind « Je pense plus »Clan ErskineI think more « Ne oublie »Clan GrahamDo not forget « Par valeur »Clan HeronBy bravery « Sans tache »Clan NapierWithout stain « Tout pourvoir »Clan OliphantTo provide for all « La fortune passe partout »Clan RolloFortune passes everywhere « Sans peur »Clan SutherlandWithout fear « Je pense »Clan WemyssI think

Browse All Clans (A–Z)

Click any clan below to see its heraldic crest, motto and detailed heraldic blazon.

A

Clan Abernethy crest Abernethy Clan Adam crest Adam Clan Agnew crest Agnew Clan Aiton crest Aiton Clan Allardice crest Allardice Clan Anderson crest Anderson Clan Anstruther crest Anstruther Clan Arbuthnott crest Arbuthnott Clan Armstrong crest Armstrong Arnott

B

Clan Baillie crest Baillie Clan Baird crest Baird Clan Balfour crest Balfour Clan Bannerman crest Bannerman Clan Barclay crest Barclay Clan Bethune crest Bethune Clan Bisset crest Bisset Blackstock Clan Blair crest Blair Clan Borthwick crest Borthwick Clan Boswell crest Boswell Boyd Clan Boyle crest Boyle Clan Brodie crest Brodie Clan Broun crest Broun Clan Bruce crest Bruce Clan Buchan crest Buchan Clan Buchanan crest Buchanan Clan Burnett crest Burnett Clan Butter crest Butter

C

Clan Cameron crest Cameron Clan Campbell crest Campbell Clan Carmichael crest Carmichael Clan Carnegie crest Carnegie Clan Carruthers crest Carruthers Clan Cathcart crest Cathcart Clan Charteris crest Charteris Clan Cheyne crest Cheyne Clan Chisholm crest Chisholm Clan Cockburn crest Cockburn Clan Colquhoun crest Colquhoun Clan Colville crest Colville Clan Craig crest Craig Clan Cranstoun crest Cranstoun Clan Crawford crest Crawford Clan Crichton crest Crichton Clan Cumming crest Cumming Clan Cunningham crest Cunningham

D

Clan Dalmahoy crest Dalmahoy Clan Dalrymple crest Dalrymple Clan Douglas crest Douglas Clan Drummond crest Drummond Clan Dunbar crest Dunbar Clan Dundas crest Dundas Clan Dunlop crest Dunlop Clan Durie crest Durie

E

Clan Edmonstone crest Edmonstone Clan Eliott crest Eliott Clan Elphinstone crest Elphinstone Clan Erskine crest Erskine

F

Fairlie Clan Falconer crest Falconer Clan Farquharson crest Farquharson Clan Fergusson crest Fergusson Clan Fleming crest Fleming Clan Forbes crest Forbes Clan Forrester crest Forrester Clan Forsyth crest Forsyth Fotheringham Clan Fraser crest Fraser Clan Fullarton crest Fullarton

G

Clan Galbraith crest Galbraith Clan Galloway crest Galloway Clan Garden crest Garden Clan Glendinning crest Glendinning Clan Gordon crest Gordon Clan Graham crest Graham Clan Grant crest Grant Clan Gray crest Gray Clan Grierson crest Grierson Clan Gunn crest Gunn Clan Guthrie crest Guthrie

H

Clan Haig crest Haig Clan Haldane crest Haldane Haliburton Clan Hamilton crest Hamilton Clan Hay crest Hay Clan Hepburn crest Hepburn Clan Heron crest Heron Clan Home crest Home Clan Hope crest Hope Clan Houston crest Houston Clan Hunter crest Hunter

I

Inconnu Clan Innes crest Innes Clan Irvine crest Irvine

J

Clan Jardine crest Jardine Clan Johnstone crest Johnstone

K

Clan Keith crest Keith Clan Kennedy crest Kennedy Clan Kerr crest Kerr Clan Kinnaird crest Kinnaird Kinninmont Clan Kirkcaldy crest Kirkcaldy Kirkpatrick

L

Clan Laing crest Laing Clan Lamont crest Lamont Learmonth Clan Lennox crest Lennox Clan Leslie crest Leslie Clan Lindsay crest Lindsay Clan Livingstone crest Livingstone Clan Lockhart crest Lockhart Clan Logan crest Logan Clan Lumsden crest Lumsden Clan Lundin crest Lundin Clan Lyon crest Lyon

M

Clan Macaulay crest Macaulay Clan Macbain crest Macbain Clan Macdonald crest Macdonald Macdonald of Clanranald MacDonald of Keppoch Macdonald of Sleat Clan Macdougall crest Macdougall Clan Macdowall crest Macdowall Clan Macduff crest Macduff Macfarlane Clan Macfie crest Macfie Clan Macgregor crest Macgregor Clan Mackay crest Mackay Clan Mackenzie crest Mackenzie Clan Mackie crest Mackie Clan Mackinnon crest Mackinnon Clan Mackintosh crest Mackintosh Clan Maclachlan crest Maclachlan Clan Maclaren crest Maclaren Clan Maclean crest Maclean Clan Maclellan crest Maclellan Clan Macleod crest Macleod Clan Macnab crest Macnab Clan Macnaghten crest Macnaghten Macneil Clan Macpherson crest Macpherson Clan Macquarrie crest Macquarrie Clan Macthomas crest Macthomas Maitland Makgill Clan Malcolm crest Malcolm Clan Maule crest Maule Clan Maxwell crest Maxwell Mccorquodale Clan Mcculloch crest Mcculloch Clan Meldrum crest Meldrum Clan Melville crest Melville Clan Menzies crest Menzies Clan Mercer crest Mercer Clan Moncreiffe crest Moncreiffe Clan Monteith crest Monteith Clan Montgomery crest Montgomery Monypenny Mouat Clan Moubray crest Moubray Clan Muir crest Muir Clan Munro crest Munro Clan Murray crest Murray

N

Clan Napier crest Napier

O

Clan Ogilvy crest Ogilvy Clan Oliphant crest Oliphant

P

Clan Paisley crest Paisley Pennycook Clan Preston crest Preston Clan Pringle crest Pringle

R

Clan Ramsay crest Ramsay Clan Rattray crest Rattray Clan Riddell crest Riddell Clan Robertson crest Robertson Clan Rollo crest Rollo Clan Rose crest Rose Clan Ross crest Ross Rossie Clan Rutherford crest Rutherford Clan Ruthven crest Ruthven

S

Clan Sandilands crest Sandilands Clan Schaw crest Schaw Clan Scott crest Scott Clan Scrymgeour crest Scrymgeour Clan Sempill crest Sempill Clan Seton crest Seton Clan Sinclair crest Sinclair Clan Skene crest Skene Clan Somerville crest Somerville Clan Spalding crest Spalding Clan Spens crest Spens Clan Spottiswood crest Spottiswood Clan Stewart crest Stewart Clan Stirling crest Stirling Clan Strachan crest Strachan Straiton Stuart of Bute Clan Sutherland crest Sutherland Clan Swinton crest Swinton Symington

T

Clan Trotter crest Trotter Clan Turnbull crest Turnbull Clan Tweedie crest Tweedie

U

Udny Clan Urquhart crest Urquhart

V

Vans

W

Clan Wallace crest Wallace Clan Wardlaw crest Wardlaw Clan Weir crest Weir Clan Wemyss crest Wemyss Clan Wishart crest Wishart Clan Wood crest Wood

Most crest images © ScotClans — see the originals on scotclans.com.

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