Clan Primary Image Smith

Scottish Clans

Smith Tartans & Clan

The name Smith comes from the blacksmiths, bladesmiths, goldsmiths,silversmiths and metalsmiths who supplied almost all of Scotland with anything made of metal. Although every clan had its Smiths, the Smiths also had their own clan based around Loch Lomond.

Clan Motto Hold Fast

Who Wears Smith 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.

  • Smyth

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Smith Tartans

3 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
  • 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.

Clan Origin Primary Image Smith

From the start

Smith Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Smith

Explore the history of Clan Smith

How it all started

Territories

Loch Lomond

Clan Chief

Clan Smith do not have a Clan Chief that is recognised by the Lord Lyon of Arms, they are an armigerous Clan.

Where does the name Smith come from?

The name Smith means not only a man who made ploughshares and horseshoes, but also an armourer who made weapons of all types.

Clan Origin Location Image Smith 2021 09 23 112257 bvgk

Fyvie Castle

Fyvie Castle is located in the North of Scotland, near Aberdeen and the original castle was built during the 13th Century. Five families had possession of the castle, and while each family was in ownership they built their own tower, two of these towers have since fallen. The most grandest of the towers would have to be Seton tower as this forms the entrance to the castle.

Clan Smith

Although every Clan had smiths, there was once a Clan Smith in old Scotland. After 1745, the clan system was outlawed. In 1978, Emery Smith, Jr. of Southern Pines, North Carolina re-formed Clan Smith under the name Clan Smith Society, Inc. (USA Branch). It is an organization of people of Scottish or Scots-Irish Smith backgrounds and their spouses.

Clan Motto: Hold Fast


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