Anothers tartan

[David Thorpe]

A final note about the permission above. Although there is nothing stopping you from wearing the Thompson tartan, a random Thompson clansman doesn't have the authority to grant you any type of permission regarding the affairs of Clan Thompson. As with any clan, that right is reserved to the chief.

Nathan, I agree wholeheartedly with your post.
However, I would point out that there is no "Clan Thompson" per se. Thompson is a direct Anglicization of MacTavish, meaning "son of Thomas", and many, but not all Thompsons regard themselves as being of Clan MacTavish. We have many active Thompsons in Clan MacTavish USA.
Several years ago a splinter group broke off and petitioned the Lyon Court for recognition as "Clan Thompson". They were granted recognition as a clan association - a corporate entity, but not as a clan. Their website understandably omits this point. The Clan Thompson Association has no Chief.
This is a huge can of very stinky worms, and I will not discuss it further here. I probably should have limited my post to something like, "The Chief of Clan MacTavish does not consider Thompson Camel an official clan tartan." - and left it at that.

No hijack is intended here. Apologies for what some may consider a trivial sidebar.

[Phil]

However, I would point out that there is no "Clan Thompson" per se.

There is a clan MacThomas, however.



Wonder if there is a connection?

[David Thorpe]

There is a clan MacThomas, however.
Wonder if there is a connection?

Clan MacThomas is a different clan altogether and from a different area.

[Nathan]

Clan MacThomas is a different clan altogether and from a different area.

But just to complicate matters, as I understand it, there are some Thompsons who are part of Clan MacTavish, some that are part of Clan Campbell (A certain Mr. Thompson is very active in the local Clan Campbell society here), and some that are part of Clan MacThomas.

We have Thompson as a family name, one of my brothers is named for that connection, but we don't know which Thompsons they are...

[David Thorpe]

But just to complicate matters, as I understand it, there are some Thompsons who are part of Clan MacTavish, some that are part of Clan Campbell (A certain Mr. Thompson is very active in the local Clan Campbell society here), and some that are part of Clan MacThomas.

We have Thompson as a family name, one of my brothers is named for that connection, but we don't know which Thompsons they are...

It is complicated indeed. Serious genealogy is required by Thompsons to determine the origin of their particular family's origin. To further complicate matters, the Thompson association claims descent either from Dunardry or the lowland border revier country depending on who is asking.

[ThistleDown]

There is a clan MacThomas, however.



Wonder if there is a connection?

Phil, there are no "Thompsons" among the Clan MacThomas. The clan is descended of a 14C illegitimate son of William 2nd of Mackintosh through Big Adam of Garvamore at the southern tip of Clan Chattan territory. By the latter half of the 15C the family was large enough in numbers to be considered a distinct clan under Thomas, their then patriarch. Like his great- or great-great grandfather, Thomas was a big man and took the name Tomaidh Mor. The MacThomases left Badenoch sometime between 1464 and 1496 and settled beside the River Shee in what is now Perthshire. That's where you found the sign.

MacThomas obviously translates to Thomson and shortened forms Thom and Thoms. No 'p' exists in any Mackintosh, MacThomas or Farquharson documents. The name MacThomaidh, however, is pronounced MacHomy and was often simplified to the phonetic form, MacComie, so among the MacThomas records there are found names like Combe, Combie, McColm, McComas, MacComb and MacComish.

There is no connection between the Clan MacThomas in Glen Shee and Glen Isla, one of the nine tribes of Mackintosh, and the Lowland and English families of Thompson, or the MacTavishes of Argyll other than the fact that they all originated in the name Thomas.

[Andrews Son]

Nathan, I agree wholeheartedly with your post.
However, I would point out that there is no "Clan Thompson" per se. Thompson is a direct Anglicization of MacTavish, meaning "son of Thomas", and many, but not all Thompsons regard themselves as being of Clan MacTavish. We have many active Thompsons in Clan MacTavish USA.
Several years ago a splinter group broke off and petitioned the Lyon Court for recognition as "Clan Thompson". They were granted recognition as a clan association - a corporate entity, but not as a clan. Their website understandably omits this point. The Clan Thompson Association has no Chief.
This is a huge can of very stinky worms, and I will not discuss it further here. I probably should have limited my post to something like, "The Chief of Clan MacTavish does not consider Thompson Camel an official clan tartan." - and left it at that.

No hijack is intended here. Apologies for what some may consider a trivial sidebar.

I read the Thompson clan is like the Anderson clan, in that people spread across Scotland all took on the name for some reason or another. And are not related, hence why different Clans claim them as there own. If i got this wrong im happy to be corrected.