Names & Places

Daniel	A sept of the Donald clan, originating in Uist, Jurra and Kintyre. Clan Donald is one of the most widespread of the clans, leading to the more widely known MacDonald clan. Donald has its roots in the old Gaels and Picts, with Norse additions and is traceable from the earliest historic personalities. The Donald lineage stems from the legendary Conn of the Battles, through Somerland the thane of Argyll to his son Donald; hence the clan name. Somerland was the 'de facto' King of South Isles changing allegiance between Norway and Scotland. Helping to expel the Norse in 1135 from Arran and Bute (his home turf), he then died at Renfrew in 1164 while invading against Malcolm IV. Having married one of the daughters of Olaf, the Norse King of the Isle of Man, his grandson Donald (son of Somerland's son Ranald, or Reginald) is the founder of all the Donald descendants and the clan.
Collessie	A place in Fife, Collessie comes from the Gaelic 'cuil' meaning Corner or nook, and 'eas' meaning waterfall. To this is added -ach giving the meaning the Waterfall at the nook.
Chisholm	Originating in Invernesshire and Roxburgh, Chisholm means Choose Meadow from the Norman “chese” meaning "choose", and the Saxon “holm” meaning "meadow". The Chisholm motto is Feros Ferio, 'I am fierce with the fierce'.
Donald	Clan Donald is one of the most widespread of the clans, leading to the more widely known MacDonald clan. Donald has its roots in the old Gaels and Picts, with Norse additions and is traceable from the earliest historic personalities. The Donald lineage stems from the legendary Conn of the Battles, through Somerland the thane of Argyll to his son Donald; hence the clan name. Somerland was the 'de facto' King of South Isles changing allegiance between Norway and Scotland. Helping to expel the Norse in 1135 from Arran and Bute (his home turf), he then died at Renfrew in 1164 while invading against Malcolm IV. Having married one of the daughters of Olaf, the Norse King of the Isle of Man, his grandson Donald (son of Somerland's son Ranald, or Reginald) is the founder of all the Donald descendants and the clan.
Gordon	Gordon - meaning Great Fort from the Celtic prefix gor- stressing what follows, and dun meaning fort. The main family roots are essentially in Deeside and Aberdeen. Gordon is of Norman origin and settled first in Berwickshire. In 1320, Robert the Bruce awarded Sir Adam de Gordon the forfeited land of the Cummings at Strathbogie. From here the chiefs, widely known as "The Cock of the North" exerted great power on the governmental side and founded in 177 and 1794 the regiments that eventually merged to become the Gordon Highlanders. Well know Gordons include Gordon of Khartoum and Lord Byron (his mother was a Gordon). Lesser known are the 3 Gordons that compiled old Scottish works such as the Atlas of 1854. The Gordon coat-of-arms shows a wild boar’s head as legend tells that the first Gordon saved a Scottish king from an attacking boar.
Hay	A powerful Norman family, the de la Hayes came across in 1066 with William the Conquerer and settled in Aberdeenshire and Tweeddale. The name means hedge from the French, and the family motto is Serva Jugum, 'Keep the Yoke'. In France, the Hays have held ranks of Princes from before 1066. William de la Haya was cupbearer to Malcolm IV (Malcolm thge Maiden 1141-1165). His eldest son became ancestor to the Earls of Errol, one of whom (Sir Gilbert Hay) was awarded by Robert the Bruce the lands of Slains and the hereditary title of High Constable of Scotland.
mac	son, thus MacDonald is literally the son of Donald
MacAndrew	MacAndrew takes its origin from the 13th century chief MacGilleAndreas, "Son of a devotee of St Andrew". Originally from the St Andrews area in Scotland, they are a sept of Ross, whose earls served under Bruce at Bannockburn, owned large parts of Rossshire, before losing power and the Earldom between 1411 and 1476.
MacDonald	Reflecting the family motto Per mare pre terras, 'By sea and land', Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway established his country's Celtic power by settling in 1098 all the islands of the west coast that he could reach whilst his boat's rudder was in a fixed position.
mc	in written documents, abbreviation of mac
patronymics	the custom of surnames following the father's first name
spelling	the sound of a name is more important than the name as spelling has only been standardised in more recent times. Shakespeare is known to have spelt his own name in at lease 20 different ways.
Strachan	A village in Aberdeenshire, Strachan, originally pronounced "strawn", is formed from the Gaelic strath menaing broad valley and eithin meaning river. Hence Strachan means 'river valley'.
surname	an addition to the (first) name that eventually became the family name. The actual point at which a surname is appended to your family varies. In the Scottish Lowlands, landed people commenced adding place names in the 11th century. This was followed, by several centuries of trade names, eg Smith, geographical terms, eg Wood, personal characteristics, eg Little, and connection to the father's name, eg Donaldson. This latter, patronyms, was used very widely in the 16th century when surnames became the norm. The patronymic system was only discontinued in the Northern Isles during the 20th century, when they were replaced by a fixed family name taken from a name father or ancestral figure.