Clan Mackay Sept

[Steve Ashton]

The only way to know for sure is to do your genealogy and find out where in Scotland your people came from.

There is a common misconception that - If you are of Scottish descent you are pert of a Clan.

The truth is that the vast majority of Scots were not part of the Highland Clan system.

And this whole thing of septs is very vague. Each Clan chief can decide which people are part of his Clan and that may change over time. There is no single, authoritative Sept list. If you think of it, a Clan may have a valley as their area, but not everyone in that valley would have the same name. And someone with the same name could likely live somewhere else.

And please do not assume that the website or tent at a Highland Games are the actual Scottish clan. They may be and they may be a social society that has a website and publish a newsletter.

You may need to dig a little deeper into your history.