Clan Primary Image Maccoll

Scottish Clans

MacColl Tartans & Clan

Within Clan Donald the first name Coll is very common and as such the MacColl's are considered to be descended from Clan Donald, as well as both sharing the same clan badge of a sprig of heather.
Clan Motto Justi Ut Sidera Fulgent (The righteous shine as stars)

Who Wears MacColl 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.

  • McColl

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Maccoll 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
  • 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 Maccoll

From the start

MacColl Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Maccoll

Explore the history

How it all started

Territories

Tradition has it that the MacColls have been associated with the area round Loch Fyne from an early date and are claimed to be a branch of the great Clan Donald.

Clan Chief

Clan MacColl is an armigerous clan which means that the clan, family or name is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon, but does not currently have a chief recognised by the Lyon Court.

What's in the name?

The MacColls are connected to other clans including Clan Donald, the MacGregors and the Stewarts of Appin.

Clan Origin Location Image Maccoll

Loch Fyne

Loch Fyne is located within the Scottish County of Argyll and Bute and is historically related to the Clan MacColl. The MacColl family are related to many other great Scottish families including the MacGregors and Stewarts of Appin. However, it is said that the MacColl family are descendants of the Donald family, as members of Clan Donald originally used Coll as their personal name. The MacColls also share a badge with Clan MacDonald.

Fairytale of New York

One notable MacColl is Kirsty Anna MacColl, who was an English singer and songwriter, most famous for featuring on "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues.

Clan Motto: Justi Ut Sidera Fulgent (The righteous shine as stars)


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