Tracing your Scottish Ancestry

This is collection of resources designed to assist those wishing to trace their Scottish Ancestry.

We are very lucky in Scotland to have a fairly good system of records for those wishing to trace their family histories. Compulsory registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages was introduced in 1855 and these records are accessible and held by the General Register Office for Scotland. The GRO(S) also hold parish registers before that (the earliest is Errol in Perthshire which goes back to 1553, but most are rather later than this). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons), who have a religious duty to trace their ancestors, have copied the parish records and included them in their databases. Local libraries in Scotland may also hold copies, as will the family history societies, a number of which are listed below. The last major source of information is the GENIUK project which collects information and resources on British (including Scottish) and Irish genealogy.

If you know of any other appropriate sites, relating either to Scottish Genealogy, or to Scottish family names or crests, please tell us.

Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors
Cecil Sinclair

Tracing Scottish Ancestors
A.R. Bigwood

There is a major new Scottish Resource which will help you find out more about where you ancestors came from: the Gazetteer for Scotland. This site also includes information on family names, biographies of famous Scots and lots of photographs.

Scottish Genealogy

The Scottish component of the UK and Ireland Genealogy Pages
Details of Scottish Places, Regions and Maps (maps now include detailed maps from UK Ordnance Survey)
General Register Office (Scotland) responsible for the registration of births, deaths and marriages
The National Library for Scotland
Scottish Section of the Genealogy Gateway To The Web
Paul McDonald's Scottish Genealogy site
David Wills' Indexes of Parishes, Births, Deaths and Marriages
Genealogical database for the Eastern Townships of Quebec where many immigrant Scots settled
An excellent and complete Index to Scottish Genealogy Resources
U.S. Scots - substantial resource for the Scottish-American Community
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland Reports of life in Scotland in the 1790s and 1830s, compiled on a parish-by-parish basis.

Names, Clans & Tartans

What is a Clan?

A Clan is an extended family or group of families in Highland Scotland. The term 'clan' is not used for families in Lowland Scotland.

What is a Sept?

A Sept is a subsidiary family that has decided to join a clan. This may have occurred for reasons of family relationship, protection from enemies, financial gain, food or improved status. Such families generally came from the same geographical areas as the clan they joined.

What do most clan-names begin with Mac?

The prefix "Mac" means "son of" in Gaelic. Until the 16th Century, individuals in Gaelic-speaking Scotland were given only one name and thus were referred to as Duncan, son of Donald. It was only later that this convention was used to form a formal surname. Mac is variously rendered as Mc or M'. The suggestion that names beginning "Mc" are Irish and "Mac" are Scottish is wrong. Within Gaelic, "Nic" is the female equivalent of "Mac", that is "daughter of". Thus a female's surname with the surname MacGovan, will appear in Gaelic as Nic Ghobhain, not Mac Ghobhain. However, Nic never appears in the anglicised version of a surname.

A Listing of Scottish Clans (based in Scotland, extensive but not complete)
Scottish Clans Database
'Gathering of the Clans' searchable clans database
The Scottish Clan Map
An exhaustive Listing of Clans which forms the "Scottish Clans Usenet FAQ"
The Scottish Military Historical Society
Our information on Scottish Tartans

Genealogical Societies & Researchers

General Genealogy Resources

The WWW Genealogy Home Page
A list of Genealogy Databases
Genealogy Gateway to the Web - includes 'gateways' to other resources
RootsWeb A series of huge databases which help identify your roots