Quote Originally Posted by Steve Ashton View Post
Bold added for clarification.

I do not believe that it would be correct to describe MacCallum as a Highland Clan if it were also a sept of MacLeod. And while you can find a crest for MacCallum and websites that say MacCallum Clan there is not a chief or representative on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.

I also believe that the whole idea of septs is a Victorian era invention. The Clan system was one of regions and not just last name. For example if your last name is Gordon and your family comes from the area of Galloway in SE Scotland they would have been lowlanders and not part of the Gordon Clan.
If your last name is Campbell and your family comes from Ayreshire they also would not be not part of the Highland Campbell Clan.

The area most commonly recognized with the surname MacCallum is on the Central Western coast of Scotland. This area is associated with the Clan Campbell, while MacLeod is associated with the Hebrides and Skye. Totally different and distinct areas.

I often use the example of back in the olden days. Your last name may be what you did for a living such as Smith or where you were from. Back then those folks who put the feathers on the arrows may have had the last name of Fletcher. Well, everybody needed the guy to put feathers on their arrows so the name Fletcher could have been everywhere.
While I pretty much agree with most of this. I did find that Clan MacCallum or Malcolm has a chief listed as Robin Malcolm of Poltalloch.

I think one of the issues and perhaps why some modern commentators might have seen MacCallum as highland was their appears to be some association with them with Argyllshire. Now as an outsider with a bit of knowledge of Scotland and Scottish history I see Argyll being associated with different parts of Scotland during different periods of time with the lands being embroiled in contests that involved Highlanders, Islanders and Lowlanders. Perhaps the now defunct idea of Strathclyde would be best to describe it, but it's possible that just adds more confusion to the fire.

In the states, and I would hazard a guess other areas of the Scottish diaspora, I've found that our retained knowledge of Scottish geography is clouded. I know some Americans who define anything north of Stirling as Highland, but that's not how I've heard it described in Scotland. This too might have influenced why some modern sources I see call Clan MacCallum a highland clan.