District Tartans & Surnames

Districts and their associated tartans are at the center of the SDFA.

As a descendant of one or more of Scotland’s families, you should celebrate your Scottish heritage with as much pride and spirit as any member of a Clan society! For those interested in wearing specific tartan colors related to Scottish heritage, there are many possibilities. For instance, the Black Watch and Royal Stewart are open tartans that can be worn by anyone. There are also tartans for countries beyond Scotland’s borders, military groups, and even for individual states. In addition, many of the districts of Scotland have their own tartans.

As part of the SDFA’s mission to connect its members to their Scottish heritage we have partnered with Robert Heston to make his extensive research into Scottish surnames available to anyone wishing to delve deeper into their family history. The pages below include background information from Robert, the district tartan directory, and the surname database featuring over 28000 family names and their potential district associations!

The work featured here is ever-evolving as new records become available. We hope these resources provide our members with the tools they need to dig further into their Scottish heritage.

Surname Database

View our full surname database including over 28000 surname records.

View the Surname Database

District Tartan Database

A database of districts and their associated tartans.

District Tartan Database

Introduction

An introduction to districts and Robert’s research.

Introduction

Understanding Scottish Surnames

Dive deeper into surnames and their origins.

Understanding Scottish Surnames

Suggested Research Materials

Resources to assist in your research.

Suggested Research Materials

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