Clan Primary Image Napier

Scottish Clans

Napier Tartans & Clan

The current Clan Chief is The Right Honourable Sir Francis David Charles Napier, 15th Lord Napier, 6th Baron Ettrick and 12th Baronet of Thirlestane, Chief of the Name and Arms of Napier.
Clan Motto Sans tache (Without stain)

Who Wears Napier Tartan? - Associated Names

First of all to explain why there are so many tartans, way over 2000 in fact. There are an awful lot of Scottish clans to start with and on top of this each clan can have many different tartans and names associated with it.

  • Naeper
  • Naiper
  • Napair
  • Napeir
  • Napeire
  • Naper
  • Napir
  • Napper
  • Neaper
  • Neiper
  • Nepar
  • Nepair
  • Nepeir
  • Neper
  • Nepere
  • Neppar
  • Nepper
  • Naperus

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Napier Tartans

2 variations

Each tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress

About tartan variations

  • Ancient
  • Modern
  • Weathered
  • Hunting
  • One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if

Ancient Tartan

Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans, mossy greens and sky blues, a more orangey red and some would say showing off the pattern to much greater effect as as the contrasts are much brighter than the Modern tartans. The pattern or sett remains the same across all variations of a single tartan, and only the shades or tones vary.

Helpful Advice

Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.

Modern Tartan

Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans. Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.

Helpful Advice

The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern

Weathered Tartan

Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer, more earthy colours typical of the Weathered tartans, reminiscent of bolder colours subjected to wind, rain and sunshine producing beautiful faded tones, olive greens and browns, and very light blues with reds that are more pink than red.

Helpful Advice

Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.

Hunting Tartan

The Hunting Tartans are the camouflage tartans and some clans don't have these variations because they are already predominantly green or brown and don't need amendment to blend in with nature's colours. The Black Watch or Gunn tartans are examples of these, whereas a tartan such as the Fraser is predominantly red and would not provide much cover for men out hunting.

Helpful Advice

One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.

One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if Tartan

The Dress Tartans were designed as the name suggests for celebrations and highland dance. The sett or pattern of the tartan remains the same and the main colour is changed to white, or extra white is added to the pattern to give it a brighter, more "fancy" appearance. The Scots do like to bend the rules and occasionally instead of white thread, yellow is used and this is where the rather wild MacLeod Dress Modern and Barclay Dress Modern came from.

Helpful Advice

One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.

Clan Origin Primary Image Napier

From the start

Napier Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Napier

Explore the history of Clan Napier

How it all started

Territories

Fife and Midlothian

Clan Chief

The current chief is Francis Nigel Napier, 14th Lord Napier

Where does the name Napier come from?

It has been suggested that the name Napier derives from the “naperer” the officer of the royal household in charge of linen.

Clan Origin Location Image Napier

Merchiston Castle

Merchiston Castle (also known as Merchiston Tower) was first built in the 15th Century by the Napier family, it is located in the centre of Edinburgh and is the historic seat of Clan Napier. The Castle was solely owned by the Napier family for 500 years, with only a short period of time when it was owned by the Lowis family. The Napier family eventually sold the Castle to Edinburgh council during the 20th Century and it is now in the centre of the Merchiston Campus at Napier University. It is thought that the Castle was built with the purpose of being a country house, however due to its location it had to be heavily fortified.

How old is Napier?

Although Clan Napier is one of the smaller clans of Scotland, the name Napier is one of the oldest in the country. Clan Napier has no known septs or dependent names. The name Napier is recorded in Scotland in documents dated before 1300, however, the present spelling only came into common usage in the late 17th century.

Clan Motto: Sans tache (Without stain)


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