Armigerous clan
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An armigerous clan or Family, is a Scottish clan the chief of which has matriculated arms with the Lyon Office. Some believe that those clans which do not currently have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms (a law officer under Scots law) but do have a member who has matriculated arms can be considered armigerous. The clan itself cannot be considered armigerous since in Scotland only a natural or legal person can be armigerous.
While there are a number of reasons why a clan may have no chief the most common are listed below.
- Following the 1745 Jacobite Rising and the dismantling of the clan system, many of the chiefly lines of clans and families were lost. Due to gaps in the genealogical evidence, it has thus far been unable to prove a direct descent to current claimants.
- Over time, some smaller clans were absorbed and became a sept of the larger clan. While the smaller clan retains a clan crest, it owes allegiance to the chief of the larger clan. Some of these smaller clans now wish to be identified separately from the larger clan, however, proving a genealogical link to the chiefs before absorption is very difficult.
- As Scots law and English and Welsh law differ over inheritance, some individuals are barred from being matriculated as chief.
- As punishment for acts against the monarch, it was possible for chiefs to be stripped of land and titles. Though often restored to later generations of the family, this was not always the case.
There are currently over 200 armigerous clans and families of Scotland.
| Clan/Family | Motto | Incumbent |
| Abercromby | ||
| Abernethy | ||
| Adair | ||
| Adam | ||
| Aikenhead | ||
| Ainslie | ||
| Aiton ( AYTON ) | Decerptae dabunt odorum ( Roses plucked will give sweet smell ) | |
| Allardice | ||
| Anderson | Stand Sure | |
| Armstrong | Invictus maneo | |
| Arnott | Sereputum Et Completum | |
| Auchinleck | ||
| Baillie | Quid clarius astris. | |
| Baird | ||
| Balfour | ||
| Bannatyne | ||
| Baxter | ||
| Bell | ||
| Belshes | ||
| Bethune | ||
| Beveridge | Perseverando | |
| Binning | ||
| Bisset | ||
| Blackadder | ||
| Blackstock | ||
| Blair | ||
| Blane | ||
| Blyth | ||
| Boswell | ||
| Brisbane | ||
| Buchanan | Clarior hinc honos ([Henceforth the honour shall grow ever brighter] | |
| Butters | Diriget Deus (God Will Direct It) | |
| Byres | ||
| Cairns | ||
| Calder | ||
| Caldwell | ||
| Callender | ||
| Campbell of Craignish | The Much Hon. Bruce Campbell of Craignish | |
| Carruthers | ||
| Chalmers | ||
| Cheyne | ||
| Clelland | ||
| Clephane | ||
| Cockburn | ||
| Congilton | ||
| Craig | ||
| Crawford | ||
| Crosbie | ||
| Cunningham | ||
| Dalmahoy | ||
| Dalrymple | ||
| Dalziel | ||
| Dennistoun | ||
| Don | ||
| Douglas | ||
| Dunlop | ||
| Edmonstone | ||
| Fairlie | ||
| Falconer | ||
| Fenton | ||
| Fleming | ||
| Fletcher | ||
| Fotheringham | ||
| Fullarton | ||
| Galbraith | ||
| Galloway | ||
| Garden | ||
| Gartshore | ||
| Ged | ||
| Gibsone | ||
| Gladstains | ||
| Glas | ||
| Glen | ||
| Glendinning | Have Faith In Christ | |
| Haliburton | ||
| Halkerston | ||
| Halket | ||
| Hepburn | ||
| Heron | ||
| Herries | ||
| Hog | ||
| Hopkirk | ||
| Horsburgh | ||
| Houston | ||
| Hutton | ||
| Inglis | ||
| Innes | Be Traist | |
| Kelly | ||
| Kincaid | ||
| Kinloch | ||
| Kinnaird | ||
| Kinnear | ||
| Kinninmont | ||
| Kirkcaldy | ||
| Kirkpatrick | ||
| Laing | ||
| Lammie | ||
| Langlands | ||
| Learmonth | ||
| Little | ||
| Livingstone | ||
| Logan | Hoc majorum virtus. | |
| Logie | ||
| Lundin | ||
| Lyle | ||
| MacAulay | Dulce periculum | |
| MacBrayne | ||
| MacDuff | "Deus juvat" | |
| MacEwen | "Reviresco" -I flourish again | |
| MacFarlane | This I'll Defend | |
| MacFie | ||
| MacGillivary | Touch Not This Cat | {Reportedly two members of Chiefs Lineage married into Creek Nation-see Alexander McGillivray and William McIntosh} |
| MacInnes | The Much Hon. Bruce Campbell of Craignish | |
| Mackie | ||
| MacLellan | ||
| Macneil of Barra | Vincere vel Mori / Buaidh no Bas (To Conquer or Die) | Ian Roderick MacNeill |
| MacQuarrie | An T'Arm Breac Dearg (The Red Tartaned Army) | |
| MacQueen | (Reportedly Chiefs immigrated to New Zealand) | |
| MacRae | "Fortitudine" | |
| Masterton | ||
| Maule | ||
| Maxton | ||
| Maxwell | ||
| McCorquodale | ||
| MacCulloch | ||
| McIver | ||
| McKerrell | ||
| Meldrum | ||
| Melville | ||
| Mercer | ||
| Middleton | ||
| Moncur | ||
| Monteith | ||
| Monypenny | ||
| Mouat | ||
| Moubray | ||
| Mow | ||
| Muir | ||
| Muirhead | ||
| Nairn | ||
| Neish | ||
| Nevoy | ||
| Newlands | ||
| Newton | ||
| Norvel | ||
| Ochterlony | ||
| Orrock | ||
| Paisley | ||
| Paterson | ||
| Pennycook | ||
| Pentland | ||
| Peter | ||
| Pitblado | ||
| Pitcairn | ||
| Pollock | ||
| Polwarth | ||
| Porteous | I Byde My Time | |
| Porterfield | ||
| Preston | ||
| Pringle | ||
| Purves | ||
| Rait | ||
| Ralston | ||
| Renton | ||
| Roberton | ||
| Rossie | ||
| Russel | Virtus Sine Macula | |
| Rutherford | ||
| Schaw | ||
| Seton | ||
| Skirving | ||
| Somerville | Fear God In Life | |
| Spalding | ||
| Spottiswood | ||
| Stewart | ||
| Strachan | Non timeo sed caveo (I do not fear but am careful). | |
| Straiton | Surgere tento (I strive to rise) | |
| Strange | ||
| Sydserf | ||
| Symmers | ||
| Tailyour | ||
| Tait | ||
| Tennant | ||
| Troup | ||
| Turnbull | ||
| Tweedie | Thole and Think | |
| Udny | ||
| Vans | ||
| Walkinshaw | ||
| Wardlaw | ||
| Watson | ||
| Wauchope | ||
| Weir | ||
| Whitefoord | ||
| Whitelaw | ||
| Wishart | ||
| Wood | Defend | |
| Young |
