I can't help but [respectfully] see the irony of the content of this post, while the poster has as their avatar, a "clansman's badge", which denotes loyalty to a clan Chief.
Respectfully, of course, my avatar is the "clansman's badge" from the Tribe of Mar. I belong to the organization and am very active in sponsoring it and games, functions, and what not. I have a lot of fun, with the organization. But, in my activity, it has helped me see the irony of the clans. Hopefully you can make it through this!!

In Scotland there are two areas that have a high rate, relative to the rest of the country, of Mair's. The two areas are Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. Now, these groups are related, but at about 1200 A.D. And according to some, they were Normans that came to Scotland with David. They would have started in Ayr and moved up. Now, the Tribe of Mar, and the lands of Mar are located near and in Aberdeenshire. My family though, comes from Mauchline in Ayrshire, and are not associated with their kin to north. Yet, because a Mair from aberdeen pledged his loyalty to the Countess of Mar, all Mairs from thenceforth will be associated with the Tribe of Mar.

As I said before, I am proud of the organization and do a lot with it. But, other than modern day romanticism, I am not connected to the clan through any ancient legalities. I would imagine that there are a lot that fall into this category. How many Donalds do we think there were in Scotland whose son's took and continued to pass on the name MacDonald? Just one? Yet, somehow they get associatted with one of the many families of MacDonalds.

Peace and Harmony,
Jason