Scottish Clans
MacLachlan Tartans & Clan
Today clan Maclachlan is alive and lives as the Clan Maclachlan Society and the Lachlan Trust. The Lachlan Trust is a registered Scottish charitable organisation which takes donations to preserve the heritage of Clan Maclachlan. The Clan Society consists of eight branches around the world, including Australia, Britain & Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States of America.
Who Wears MacLachlan 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.
- Clafin
- Eunson
- Ewanm
- Ewenm
- Ewenson
- Ewing
- Gilchrist
- Lachie
- Lachlan
- Lauchlan
- MacCune
- MacCoun
- MacEwan
- MacEwen
- MacGilchrist
- MacKeon
- MacKeown
- MacKewan
- MacKewn
- MacKuen
- MacKune
- MacLaghlan
- MacLauchlan
- MacLaughlin
Maclachlan Tartans
7 variationsEach tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress
About tartan variations
- Ancient
- Modern
- Weathered
- Hunting
- Dress
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.
Dress 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.
From the start
MacLachlan Clan Origins & History
Explore the history of Clan MacLachlan
How it all started
Territories
The west coast of Loch Fyne
Clan Chief
The current chief is Euan MacLachlan of MacLachlan
Where does the name MacLachlan come from?
As far as we can see, the name Lachlan could have two separate meanings. One such meaning is 'stranger' as the name Lachlann means stranger in Gaelic. However the name Lachlann was also used to describe Scandinavia as Lach meant loch or fjord and Lann simply meant land, Scandinavia was therefore once known as Lochland.
Old Castle Lachlan
Clan MacLachlan is one of the oldest clans in Scotland and their historic seat is Old Castle Lachlan, which is located in Argyll and Bute beside Loch Fyne. The Castle is thought to have been built in the 15th Century by the MacLachlan family. In 1745 the Clan MacLachlan Chief joined Bonnie Prince Charlie's army to fight in the Jacobite Rebellion and the Battle of Culloden, however the chief died during this battle leaving the castle unarmed. It is said that the English came on the land and destroyed the castle, however there is no official record of this. But what is known is that the castle was abandoned in 1746 after the chief died during battle and has since turned to ruins.
Plant Badge
Clan MacLachlan's plant badge is Rowan
Clan Motto: Fortis Et Fidus (Strong and Faithful)
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