A surname does not automatically give you a clan, and a clan does not automatically give you one tartan. The finder shows each link separately, with the sources behind it.
Schematic, not to scale. Measure over thin clothing, with the tape snug and level. Length is taken from the natural waist, not from where trousers sit.
Why trust this
The evidence is on the page, including the weak parts
Tartan history is full of confident stories that trace back to a nineteenth-century catalogue or to nothing at all. So each historical claim here is tied to a source, and each source is graded from A to E. A claim that cannot be traced is not written as fact.
The source list currently holds 554 records. 196 are graded A or B: registries, archives, museums and societies. The largest single group is level D (commercial), with 234 records. A claim takes the level of its best source, and repeating a weak source does not raise it.
Nobody here claims a credential they do not hold, and no review, quote or experience on this site is invented. If you find an error, send the source and the entry will be reviewed.
ALevel A: Registry or archiveAn official registry, an archive or a primary source.126 sources (23%)
BLevel B: Museum or societyA respected museum, institution, historical society or clan organisation.70 sources (13%)
CLevel C: Specialist referenceAn established specialist secondary source.112 sources (20%)
DLevel D: CommercialA commercial source such as a retailer or a mill.234 sources (42%)
ELevel E: UnverifiedAn unverified web claim. Never the sole basis for a statement of fact.12 sources (2%)
Questions
Short answers, with the long ones a click away
Can anyone wear any tartan?
Legally, yes. The Scottish Register of Tartans says there are no laws about which tartan you may wear, only traditions. A few designs, such as the Balmoral tartan, are restricted by the people who own them, and wearing a clan tartan is customarily read as allegiance to that clan’s chief. Who can wear which tartan
Does every Scottish surname have a tartan?
No. The register’s own FAQ says there is not a tartan for every name, even a Scottish one. A surname, a clan and a tartan are three separate claims, and each one needs its own evidence. How to find your family tartan
What is the difference between tartan and plaid?
Tartan is a pattern of crossing coloured stripes with a recorded sequence. Plaid, in older Scottish use, was a length of cloth worn as a garment. In North America plaid is now the everyday word for the pattern, and both uses are established. Tartan vs plaid
What makes one tartan different from another?
Its sett: the smallest block of stripes that repeats across the cloth, written down as a thread count. Two cloths with the same sett and colours are the same tartan, whatever their weight or finish. What is tartan
How is a kilt different from a skirt?
A kilt is a long length of cloth wrapped round the body at the natural waist, flat across the front aprons, pleated at the sides and back, and sized to the wearer. Many skirts are shaped, gathered or sewn into a closed tube instead. What is a kilt
What do the evidence levels A to E mean?
They grade the source behind a claim, from A for an official registry or archive down to E for an unverified web claim. A claim takes the level of its best source, and repeating a weak source does not raise it. Methodology
Seen something wrong, or missing?
Entries change when better evidence turns up. Tell us what is wrong and where you read otherwise. There is no list to join and nothing to sign up for.
Look up a tartanColours, dates and what the register does and does not record.
Start from a clanHistories, seats and the tartans tied to each clan, link by link.
Start from a surnameWhere a name comes from and how strong its clan link really is.
Get your kilt sizeWaist, seat and length, in inches and centimetres.
Tartan etiquetteWho can wear which tartan?No law in Scotland says who may wear a tartan. A few are restricted by the people who own them, clan tartans carry a custom of allegiance, and the Register records both without enforcing either.
FoundationsWhat is tartan?A woven pattern of crossing coloured stripes, defined by its thread count. What makes a cloth a tartan, how the pattern is recorded, how old the evidence is, and what a registry entry does and does not prove.
FoundationsTartan vs plaidIn Scotland, tartan is the pattern and plaid was originally a garment. In North America, plaid is the common word for the pattern. Both uses are established.
Scottish dressWhat is a kilt?A knee-length wrap garment of pleated twill wool, worn at the waist. Its parts, how it differs from a skirt, and what the evidence says about how the belted plaid became the modern kilt.