Family Name and Clan

[JakobT]

So theoretically Joe Wu the poor shipwrecked Chinese sailor finding himself being cared for by Highland Chieftain Dave could pledge loyalty to that Clan and be authorized to wear the Tartan.

Even today a letter to a Standing Clan Chieftain requesting to wear his Tartan is usually met with a wonderful and thankful permission to do so.

Now I'll throw a wrench into this question. If you feel you would only be comfortable wearing a Tartan you have a feeling for, how would you feel about wearing a district, State, or fashion Tartan?

My own personal feeling, having no Scottish connection that I know of, is that I would feel uncomfortable wearing a Clan Tartan. This is why I wear plain kilts today. If I wanted to wear a Clan tartan, I expect I would try to get the Clan Chief's permission before doing so.

When it comes to district tartans, any connection with the district at all will do for me, even if it's just a place I have a feeling for, though I would at least want to have set foot there.

As far as fashion tartans are concerned, anything goes. I have a Tartan kilt on order at the moment, in a very nice universal/fashion Tartan (designed by my kiltmaker).

These are strictly personal opinions, and apply to myself only. Anyone else are of course free to do exactly as they please.

[JerseyLawyer]

You've hit on what seems (to me, a newbie) to be one of the hot-button issues of the forum. There is support for both the "wear what you want" school (the entire idea of clan tartans is a victorian invention, a lot of it is absolute balderdash, and highlanders 'back in the day' wore tartan of whatever colors the weaver happened to have on hand) and for the "wear only tartans you have a 'right' to" school (whatever the history, clan tartans have been accepted for a long time now, and so you shouldn't wear a tartan just because you 'like the colors'").

I think the idea of any "right" to a tartan has been pretty well debunked. But it's more a question of taste. And tastes differ. I feel more comfortable wearing a tartan that I have some connection to (even if that is just "well, the band I played for when I bought this kilt wore this tartan"), and if I buy a kilt for my own personal (rather than band) use, I prefer one in a tartan that my ancestors are connected with in some way.

Ultimately, though, you don't need anyone's permission to wear what you like. If you feel more comfortable that way, then I fully support it (I feel the same way!) but suit (no pun intended) yourself.

[floridaredhead]

Hi I'm new here. Just wanted to offer my two cents.

The clan that my father was a descendant of is MacArthur, but he was adopted by another family when he was an infant, back in 1939. (Dad passed away 3 years ago.) Since it was neither the fault of myself or my father that he was put up for adoption, but he was a blood descendant of Clan Arthur, I say I have every right to wear the tartan and the badge. These are, after all, symbols of my biological ancestry.

Beyond that, my great-grandmother's maiden name was Hay. There is a Hay tartan as well, and even though it was her son who adopted my father, I think I'm entitled to wear the Hay tartan as well - ties of fosterage or adoption, so far as I can tell, always were considered just as valid as blood ties.

Just sayin'