Clan MacTavish

Ancient Irish Pictish (Cruithni/Cruithne) origin

Another source for an Irish MacTavish origin is the Topographical Poems of O'Dubhagain, c. 1372, which illustrates what the origin of the MacTavishes appears to be. Under the subheading of "The Part of the Tir Chonaill", that is Conal Gulban's Land — often cited as what is now County Donegal, Ireland — is this entry on page 43: "To MacGillatsamhais the stout Belong Ros-Guill and Ros-Iroguil".^[16] Ros-Guill and Ros-Irguill, agreeing with the Ceart, were once ruled by what can be termed the Boar Kings, who are denoted in the Irish annals; with Nuada Uirc (Old Irish: Orc or Boar) being noted as one of the lines of kings of Guill and Irgull. Given in the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland 178 is "Nuada Uirc, ri Guill & Irguill".^[17] Uirc or Orc, the kings of Ross Guill and Irgull are held synonymous with a boar, and the crest badge of the MacTavishes is a boar's head. The location noted for both the Boar Kings and the ancient Irish race of MacTavish being the same.

MacTavish Family Name and the Campbell Claim

It is commonly held by the Campbells that Clan MacTavish descends from Tàmhas (Taus/Tavis Coir), son of Colin Mael Maith and a daughter of Suibhne Ruadh of Castle Sween (Sween the Red of Castle Sween).^[18] Nothing certain is known of Taus Coir other than that he is listed in several traditional genealogies.^[19] Patrick L. Thompson, Seannachie to the 27th Chief of Clan MacTavish and author of History of Clan MacTavish, identifies the clan's actual founder as Tamhais Mhór — Tavis the Great — born around 1145, and suggests Taus Coir may in fact be a later figure, possibly a son of Tamhais Mhór, rather than the founder himself.^[20] The 17th century genealogy Ane Accompt of the Genealogie of the Campbells traces Colin Mael Maith back to the mythological King Arthur. The Accompt identifies the legitimate son as "Gillespic" (Gilleasbaig) or "Archibald", ancestor of Clan Campbell; and two illegitimate sons as Tàmhas Ceàrr ("Taius Coir") and Iomhar ("Iver"), ancestors of the MacTavishes and Clan MacIver.

According to Alastair Campbell of Airds, a more probable candidate for the ancestor of the clan is the historical Sir Thomas Cambel.^[21] In 1292 Thomas' name is recorded on a list of landowners in the sheriffdom of Kintyre. In 1296 he signed the Ragman Roll as "Thomas Cambel among king's tenants in Perthshire". In 1308 he signed his name on a letter to the King of France. He was possibly dead by 1324, when his probable son, Duncan, was granted lands in Argyll for services rendered. In 1355, Duncan is listed under the name "Duncanus MacThamais", among "the Barons of Argyll".^[22]

The Craignish Manuscript, compiled by Alexander Campbell around 1706 from genealogies drawn up by the MacEwen seannachies of the Campbell chiefs between 1650 and 1660, gives Tavish Corr's parentage as different from Thomas Cambel. The Manuscript History cites Cailien Maol Maith as the father of Tavis, around 1100.^[23] Tweed mentions that Tavis' father, Cailien (Colin) Maol Maith, died at the siege of Dunstaffnage in 1110 — a claim Thompson treats with caution, noting that Argyll and the Isles were under Norse rather than Scottish royal authority at that time.^[24][25]

Patrick L. Thompson notes that the Glenmasan manuscript of 1238 AD establishes John MacTavish as a named individual more than thirty years before Thomas Cambel's first recorded appearance in 1270 — making it genealogically impossible for Thomas Cambel to be the MacTavish ancestor.^[26]

Alastair Campbell of Airds says: "It seems probable that later compilers of the official genealogy, Ane Accompt, did not know of Sir Thomas 'Cambel' and were anxious to insert the MacTavishes into the account somehow."^[27] He has also referred to the clan as Tavish Campbells, insinuating the MacTavishes are Campbell descendants.^[28]

Historiographer William Skene noted: "The policy of the Argyll family led them to employ every means for the acquisition of property and the extension of the clan. One of the arts which they used for the latter purpose was to compel those clans which had become dependent upon them to adopt the name of Campbell, and this, when successful, was generally followed at an after period by the assertion that the clan was descended from the house of Argyll. In general, the clans thus adopted into the race of Campbell, are sufficiently marked out by their being promoted only to the honor of being an illegitimate branch, but the tradition of the country invariably distinguishes between the real Campbells and those who were compelled to adopt their name."^[29] Tavis Corr, and his descendants the MacTavishes, fit Skene's description.

The Commonwealth Period

The 17th century brought the MacTavishes into the broader conflicts that swept Scotland during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. John MacTavish of Dun-ArdRigh declined to follow the Earl of Argyll when Argyll changed sides during the Commonwealth period, and gave valuable assistance to the Reforming party. In 1656, John Mactavish of Tonardry was appointed by Cromwell a Justice of Peace and Commissioner of Supply for Argyllshire — an appointment indicating recognized social standing and administrative capacity within the county.^[19]

Dougal MacTavish, a younger son of John MacTavish the 12th Chief, was killed at the Battle of Stirling on 12 September 1648. Following the battle the Marquess of Argyll provided the MacTavish chief with replacement weapons — a sword and musket — lost in the fighting.^[63]

Argyll's Rising and the Execution at Carnasserie

By the time of Argyll's Rising in 1685, the MacTavish name was documented throughout Knapdale, Kilmichael Glassary, and Kilberry. In three parishes alone, twenty-five MacTavish rebels and forty fencible men of the name were listed — sixty-five MacTavish fighting men recorded in a single event.^[64][65] A subsequent 1692 List of Fencible Men compiled from the same Inveraray Sheriff Court records similarly documents dozens of MacTavish and McCavish entries concentrated in Knapdale and Kintyre, providing further official contemporary evidence of the clan's settled population in the region.^[66] Patrick L. Thompson, who produced an annotated edition of these records, notes that the surviving 1685 Rebels list is itself incomplete — the original court dispositions for that year having gone missing — meaning the documented numbers likely understate the clan's true population in the period.^[67]

Carnasserie Castle, near the village of Kilmartin, had been held for the Earl of Argyll during his rebellion against James VII — the 9th Earl's part in the Monmouth Rebellion. The castle was captured, partly blown up by a Royalist force commanded by MacLean of Torloisk, and left as a burnt-out shell. When the castle was surrendered under terms of peaceful capitulation the besieging forces violated those terms. Dugald MacTavish, 14th Chief and Fiar of Dunardry, aged 21, was hanged within bow-draught of the castle gateway immediately after the surrender.^[68][69] In 1690, Campbell of Auchinbreck petitioned for £20,000 Scots in compensation for the murder of his uncle during the siege and the damage caused to Carnasserie.^[70] Among the most tragic sufferers in Knapdale was Marie Campbell, widow of John MacTavish of Dunardry, whose son Dugald had been hanged at Carnasserie.^[71] Dugald MacTavish is buried at Kilmartin Churchyard.^[72]

The Inveraray Sheriff Court Records of 1685 record "Donald Mc tavish of Dunardarie heritor execut" among the rebels of Argyll's Rising — a direct legal designation of a MacTavish as heritor of Dunardry in an official court instrument of the period, independently corroborating the chiefly line's documented presence at Dunardry at the time of the rebellion.^[73]

Dugald's brother Alexander MacTavish became 15th Chief and died in 1685 in battle during Argyll's Rising, serving the Earl of Argyll.^[74] In consequence of Argyll's rebellion, the property of Donald MacTavish of Dunardry was forfeited to the Crown in 1686. In 1704, the Dunardry lands were restored to Archibald MacTavish, the 17th Chief, who was appointed one of the Commissioners of Supply for Argyllshire in recognition of his family's loyalty and services.^[75]

The Jacobite Risings

During the Jacobite rising of 1715, Chief Archibald MacTavish was sympathetic to the Jacobite cause but took no overt action in support of either the Government or the Jacobites. He is recorded as having signed the address welcoming the Pretender, James Stewart.^[76]

In September 1745, both Chief Archibald MacTavish and his son Dugald MacTavish the Younger were imprisoned at Dumbarton Castle during the Jacobite rising of 1745, based on treasonable correspondence in which Dugald had written to Sir James Campbell of Auchinbreck indicating plans to raise MacTavish men in favour of Prince Charles Edward Stuart.^[77][78] With both the Chief and his heir imprisoned, there was no formal MacTavish leadership within the Jacobite Army. Some MacTavishes found their way into battle within the ranks of their neighbours, the MacIntoshes.^[79]

The Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746 ended the Jacobite cause, with 5,000 fighting for Prince Charles and 9,000 for the government. The political, military, and judicial power of the Highland chiefs was subsequently abolished. Highlanders were forbidden on pain of death from wearing tartan plaid, bearing arms, or carrying a dirk.^[80] General Cumberland loathed the Scots and considered Scotland to be a "vile spot".^[81] The MacTavish lands were not confiscated, as both the Chief and his son had been confined in Dumbarton Castle during the rebellion. Both were released under the General Pardon of 1747.^[82] By September 1747 Chief Archibald had died, and Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry succeeded as the 18th Chief. He is recorded among the petitioners to the Masonic Lodge of Scotland to establish the Masonic Lodge of Inveraray in Argyll.^[83] In 1757, just ten years after Culloden, Dugald MacTavish is recorded as one of the Duke of Argyll's chamberlains with authority to collect debts.^[84]

Highland Clearances and the Name Transition

There is no record of the MacTavish chiefs pressuring their tenants or clansmen to leave their lands during the Highland Clearances.

Following Culloden and the suppression of Gaelic Highland culture, a number of MacTavishes adopted the anglicized spellings Thomson or Thompson. The Old Parish Registers of the Church of Scotland, which predate civil registration in Scotland beginning in 1855, document this transition. The registers contain documented instances of children from the same family baptised under different surnames. In the Killean and Kilkenzie parish of Kintyre (OPR 519/0020 0118), John Thomson married Barbara McColl in 1814; their first two children born in Kilcalmonell and Kilberry parish were recorded as Flory Thomson (1815) and Donald Thomson (1817), while their next three children born in South Knapdale were recorded as Duncan McTavish (1820), Matilda McTavish (1824), and John McTavish (1827) — the same parents, the same family, two different surnames used interchangeably across siblings. A second documented case from the same parish involves John McTavish of Craigruiadh, whose eldest son John was baptized as John McTavish in 1835 in the Killean register, while his younger siblings were all baptized as Thomsons — confirmed by a family Bible bearing identical birth and baptism dates to the OPR entry.^[85][86]

By 1750 just over half the population of Scotland lived in the Highlands and spoke Gaelic; today less than 10% live in the Highlands and barely 1% speak Gaelic — the demographic consequence of the Highland Clearances that drove the MacTavish name transition to Thomson and Thompson across a single generation.^[87] Parish registers and family groups of gravestones in Argyll further express the transition of the name from MacTavish to Thomson. Some MacTavishes also became known as Tawessons or Thompsons, the latter with the intrusive "p" inserted.^[88] The chiefly line at Dunardry retained the name MacTavish throughout this period.

The 1793 Arms Matriculation

Dugald's son and heir Lachlan MacTavish of Dunardry succeeded his father in 1770.^[89] A 1752 Precept of Clare Constat by the Duke of Argyll names "Dugald McTavish" as son and heir of "Archibald McCawis alias McTavish" — the first document in the Dunardry series to use the modern MacTavish spelling, marking the point at which the anglicised form replaced the older Gaelic variants McCawis and McCavis in formal legal instruments.^[90] In 1793, John Hooke-Campbell, Lord Lyon King of Arms, granted the first formal matriculation of MacTavish arms to Lachlan MacTavish of Dunardry. These arms were recorded in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, Volume 1, Folio 563, dated 17 April 1793.^[91]

The 1793 matriculation came about when Simon McTavish of Montreal — of the Garthbeg branch of the family from Stratherrick, Inverness-shire, and at that time one of the wealthiest men in Canada — wrote to Lachlan MacTavish inquiring about the MacTavish arms. Writing of Simon, Lachlan described him as "a kinsman of mine who has lately made his appearance in England with an immense Fortune, acquired in the wilds of North America, who has put upon me to take out Arms."^[92] Arms were simultaneously matriculated for Simon McTavish of Garthbeg as a cadet of the House of Dunardry. Some Stratherrick McTavishes were considered a sept of Clan Fraser.^[93] Lachlan's son John George McTavish, born at Dunardry, subsequently became a fur trader with the North West Company under Simon McTavish's patronage, joining the company in 1798.^[94][95] No deed of resignation or nomination transferring the chiefship from Dunardry to Garthbeg was ever recorded at the Court of the Lord Lyon.^[96]

Sale of Dunardry

Lachlan MacTavish fell into severe financial difficulty. At least two Court of Session decisions arose from debts connected with the estate of Duncan Campbell of Kilduskland, who had died in 1766. The combined debts owed to Kilduskland's niece Elizabeth MacDonald of Largie and nephew Ronald Campbell amounted to more than four times the annual income from the Dunardry lands, which stood at £392 as stated in the 1785 advertisement.^[97] On 5 November 1785, the Estate of Dunardry was advertised for sale by public auction.^[98] Twenty-six consecutive legal instruments — feu charters, sasines, precepts of clare constat, and trust dispositions — document the unbroken MacTavish tenure at Dunardry from 1533 through the 1785 sale, naming each successive chief by name.^[99] It was purchased initially by Campbell of Barbeck, and subsequently in 1797 by Simon McTavish of Montreal, three years after work had begun on the Crinan Canal which subsequently divided the estate.^[100]

Following the sale, Lachlan MacTavish, his wife, and their three-year-old son Dugald moved to Edinburgh, where Lachlan was installed as Governor of Taxes for the Crown, living at St. James' Court just off the Royal Mile.^[101] The Dunardry Estate eventually passed back to Lachlan's son, Sheriff Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry, Writer to the Signet, who sold it to Malcolm of Poltallach in 1823.^[102]

The purchase of the Dunardry lands by Simon McTavish did not constitute a transfer of the chiefship, which passes through documented genealogical descent confirmed at the Court of the Lord Lyon and not through property transaction.^[103]

The Dormancy of the Chiefship

Dugald MacTavish was three years old when Dunardry was sold and under age when the 1793 arms matriculation lapsed. As a grown man serving as Sheriff Substitute of Kintyre, he did not re-register the arms, considering himself already legally established as MacTavish of Dunardry. He died without having done so. His son William MacTavish, who moved to Canada, similarly did not matriculate the chiefly arms. The Court of the Lord Lyon nominally suggests that at least every other generation re-register the chiefly arms to maintain active recognition.^[107]

William MacTavish and the Canadian Chapter

William MacTavish became the 21st Chief and rose to prominence in Canada, serving as Governor of Assiniboia and subsequently as Governor of Rupert's Land for the Hudson's Bay Company. He was at Red River Settlement during the period of political turmoil that preceded the creation of Manitoba, and was too ill to manage the crisis that unfolded with Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870. William MacTavish died on 23 July 1870 at Liverpool, two days after returning from Canada. ^[108][109]

Without formal matriculation of the chiefly arms, the chiefly line was considered dormant by the Court of the Lord Lyon.

The Garthbeg Cadet Branch in North America

The Garthbeg cadet branch descended from McTavishes who had settled on the estates of Clan Fraser of Lovat in Stratherrick, Inverness from the 16th century — lands held by Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, who was executed for high treason following the Jacobite rising of 1745.^[110] Their arms were matriculated at the Court of the Lord Lyon in 1793 simultaneously with those of Lachlan MacTavish of Dunardry, as a junior cadet line of the House of Dunardry — the bordure on their arms indicating their junior status.^[111] The most prominent member of this branch was Simon McTavish of Montreal, co-founder of the North West Company and at one time one of the wealthiest men in Canada.^[112][113]

John Lovet MacTavish (c.1787–1852), Simon's nephew, served as British Consul to the State of Maryland. Raised by his uncle after his father Alexander MacTavish died in 1788, John married Emily Caton of Maryland, whose maternal grandfather was Charles Carroll of Carrollton — the only Catholic signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.^[114] Emily's sisters married into British nobility including the family of the Duke of Wellington.^[115] John and Emily resided at Folly Quarter estate in Howard County, Maryland — named after the MacTavish family's Scottish lands — and are buried at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.^[116][117]

The Rediscovery

The rediscovery of the MacTavish chiefly line came about through genealogical research. Historian Margaret Arnett MacLeod was editing the letters of Letitia Hargrave — daughter of Sheriff Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry at Campbeltown and wife of Joseph James Hargrave of the Hudson's Bay Company — for publication by the Champlain Society. In the course of her research Mrs. MacLeod identified the MacTavish chiefly descent. Her husband, Dr. Allan MacLeod, had taken over the medical practice of James MacTavish — son of Governor William MacTavish — at Red River, which had first drawn Mrs. MacLeod into researching the MacTavish family connection.^[119] Mrs. MacLeod wrote to the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who in turn contacted the MacTavish family in Canada.^[120]

Lord Lyon Sir Thomas Innes of Learney wrote to John William Alexander Joseph MacTavish at Queen Mary Veterans' Hospital in Montreal on 26 December 1950, advising him of the heirship and urging him to petition for the Arms and Chiefship of the Clan.^[121] The contact was reported in the Lethbridge Herald on 20 November 1950: "Scotland is calling the MacTavishes. The Lord Lyon of Scotland has written a Winnipeg historian in an attempt to find the chief of Clan Tavish in time for a gathering of the chiefs of all Scottish clans in 1951."^[122] John William MacTavish was severely ill from injuries sustained during the First World War and did not matriculate. He died on 24 December 1954.^[123]

The search for the MacTavish chief attracted international attention. The Sun-Herald of Sydney, Australia reported in April 1955 that Lord Lyon Sir Thomas Innes of Learney had stated that the Canadian claimant Dougald Mactavish's "claim to the title on the knowledge already before us is fairly clear and could possibly succeed" but that no formal claim had been made.^[124]

The Five Year Petition

In 1992, Edward Stewart Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry petitioned the Court of the Lord Lyon for the Arms and Chiefship of Clan MacTavish. The petition required five years of rigorous documentary verification, during which the petitioner established the unbroken genealogical descent from Lachlan MacTavish of Dunardry through each successive generation to the present day.^[125] During this process a claim was raised — based on a 1991 self-published work by E.F. Bradford — that the chiefship had been transferred from the Dunardry line to the Garthbeg line through Simon McTavish of Montreal. An examination of more than 600 documents held in the Argyll and Bute Archive at Lochgilphead found no deed of resignation, nomination, or rematriculation supporting such a transfer. The land transaction documents Bradford had examined were Sheriff Court instruments governing property transfer — entirely separate in Scottish law from the Lord Lyon Court's jurisdiction over chiefship succession.^[126]

Lord Lyon Sir Malcolm Innes of Edingight formally matriculated Edward Stewart Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry as the 26th Chief of Clan MacTavish on 23 July 1997, ending a dormancy of approximately 200 years. The matriculation was recorded in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, 82nd Volume, 35th page.^[127]

The 27th Chief

Edward Stewart Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry died on 19 June 2005 at his home in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[128] He was succeeded by his son and heir Steven Edward Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry, who became the 27th Chief of Clan MacTavish and was admitted to the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.^[129] In 2013 the Court of the Lord Lyon matriculated new arms for Chief Steven — adding a West Highland Lymphad in the third quarter to create a distinctly MacTavish heraldic identity, completing a process of correction that began with the 1793 matriculation.^[130] Full details are documented in the Chiefly Arms section.

The MacTavish of Dunardry Dress Tartan

The origins of the MacTavish of Dunardry Dress tartan (SRT Ref# 10731) trace to a letter written by Sheriff Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry on 18 February 1845, preserved in the National Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa. Writing to arrange a proper Highland dress for his son William — who would become the 21st Chief and Governor of Rupert's Land for the Hudson's Bay Company — Sheriff Dugald described what he understood to be the authentic Dunardry Tartan: "I am told the clothiers sell a Tartan they call MacTavish but from what I hear it little resembles the set [sic sett] which my grandmother (who was the eldest daughter of the chief of MacLachlan) considered the Dunardry Tartan & which she said should have as much white as there was yellow in the MacLachlan tartan."^[131]

Sheriff Dugald's grandmother — eldest daughter of the Chief of MacLachlan — carried a living memory of what the Dunardry Tartan looked like. Her description of the white substitution was consistent with the Highland tradition of dress tartans which substituted white for one of the primary colors of the hunting sett. Further corroboration came from the MacTavish Archives, which preserved an old swatch of MacTavish tartan endorsed by Isobel MacLachlan, widow of Chief Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry the 18th Chief, in 1797 — sealed with the MacTavish arms signet of 1793 in black wax. This artifact subsequently returned to the MacTavish chiefly family.^[132]

Drawing on the 1845 letter description and the archived swatch, Chief Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry the 26th Chief and Patrick L. Thompson, worked to identify and establish the MacTavish of Dunardry Dress tartan. In 2012, Steven Edward Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry, the 27th Chief, registered the MacTavish of Dunardry Dress Tartan with the Scottish Register of Tartans, reference number 10731. The tartan date is recorded as 18 February 1845 — the date of Sheriff Dugald MacTavish's letter describing the authentic Dunardry tartan sett as recalled by his grandmother, eldest daughter of the Chief of MacLachlan.^{[133][134][135]}

Patrick L. Thompson — History of Clan MacTavish

In 2012 Patrick L. Thompson, 2nd Seannachie to the Chief of Clan MacTavish, published the authoritative History of Clan MacTavish through Otter Bay Books of Baltimore, Maryland, archived at the Library of Congress under control number LCCN 2012942086. It represents the most comprehensive documented history of the clan assembled in a single published work, drawing on primary sources spanning from the Irish annals through the Court of the Lord Lyon records.^[136]

Castle of Dunardry Rediscovered

In 2021, during a £4 million renovation of the Crinan Canal, the canal was drained and the submerged remains of Dunardry Castle — located between Lochgilphead and Crinan — became visible for the first time in centuries. As part of the renovation project aimed at enhancing safety along the historic waterway, the canal was drained during the winter months, uncovering what is believed to be the ancient stronghold of Clan MacTavish. The small castle or keep stood prominently by the freshwater Loch A'Bharain (Loch of the Baron). It was last inhabited by Lochlann MacTavish approximately 320 years ago. The rediscovery was reported by The Press and Journal and documented by Patrick L. Thompson in the Non Oblitus Newsletter.^{[137][138][139]}

The castle had been the hereditary seat of the MacTavish chiefs from approximately 893 AD until the sale of Dunardry in 1785 and the subsequent destruction of the ruins during Crinan Canal construction.^[140]

Chiefly Line

The following lists the Chiefs of Clan MacTavish as documented by Patrick L. Thompson, Seannachie, in the History of Clan MacTavish (Library of Congress LCCN 2012942086). In 1845 Sheriff Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry wrote of "twenty-one generations from father to son without an instance of collateral or female succession."^[144]

• Before listing the documented chiefs, a note on the earliest generations is warranted. The founder of Clan MacTavish was Tamhais Mhór — Tavis the Great — born around 1145 AD, who took lands in Cowal and is considered the eponymous first chief of the clan in Knapdale, Argyll. Older Campbell-derived genealogies — among them the Craignish Manuscript and the writings of Buchanan of Auchmar — instead name a "Taus Coir" as the clan's progenitor, an account tied to a disputed and unverifiable tradition involving Dunstaffnage Castle and King Alexander I. Patrick L. Thompson's research treats this Campbell tradition with considerable caution and suggests Tavis Coir may in fact be a later figure — possibly a son of Tamhais Mhór — rather than the founder himself, though this cannot be established with certainty. The table below reflects this distinction.^[145][146]

Thomson and Thompson — English Language Variants of MacTavish

Thomson and Thompson are not septs of Clan MacTavish in the traditional sense — they are the same name expressed differently. Mac Tamhais, MacTavish, Thomson, and Thompson all mean Son of Tamhais or Son of Thomas — the same ancestral identity expressed across Gaelic, anglicized Gaelic, and English. Similarly Cash and Holmes, both derived from Mac Tamhais through phonetic contraction, carry the same MacTavish ancestry in yet another form.^[173][174] These are not associated family names or septs — they are direct linguistic translations of the MacTavish name itself, and should be understood as such.

Other names, such as Todd, Stevenson, and their variants, are genuinely associated family names — the preferred designation of the Court of the Lord Lyon for what were historically called septs — and while closely connected to the clan, they carry a different and distinct relationship to the MacTavish name than Thomson, Thompson, Cash and Holmes do.^[175] Thomas-derived surnames have multiple distinct origins across Scotland — the 1587 Act of the Scottish Parliament, for example, lists Thomson among the Border riding surnames of the West March alongside Armstrong, Graham, and Johnstone, reflecting an entirely separate Lowland tradition with no Highland connection.^[176] Not all who bear the Thomson or Thompson surname are of MacTavish or MacThomas descent — independent Lowland and Border traditions also produced these names, and each tradition is distinct and legitimate in its own right.^[177]

Lord Lyon David Sellar confirmed in official correspondence dated 30 July 2008 that the surname Thomson came to be used as a further anglicisation of MacTamhais/MacTavish, initially in Argyll, and that some MacTavishes changed their name to Thomson with some now called Thomson descending from the family of MacTavish.^[178] In a further letter dated 20 May 2013, Lord Lyon Sellar confirmed that the MacTavishes and MacThomases are Highland clans and that the Thomsons cannot be described as a Highland clan.^[179][180]

A 1633 Procuratory of Resignation at Kilmichael in Knapdale lists John Thomson as a witness alongside Archibald McCawis of Tonardarie — an early documented instance of the Thomson and MacTavish names appearing side by side in the same legal instrument, reflecting the established practice of using both names interchangeably within the same community.^[181] Further genealogical evidence of this name transition is documented in Old Parish Registers of the Church of Scotland — see the Highland Clearances and the Name Transition section.

Clan MacThomas acknowledges this geographic distinction on their official septs page, stating: "Many Thomsons come from Argyll in the west of Scotland and are likely to be originally MacTavishes... Only those people whose ancestors come from the counties in Eastern Scotland mentioned above are likely to be MacThomases."^[182]

Frank Adam's Clans, Septs and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands, revised by Lord Lyon Sir Thomas Innes of Learney in its 8th edition of 1984, lists MacTavish as a clan and Thompson and Thomson as MacTavish associated names.^[183][184]

Tartans

The tartans affiliated with Clan MacTavish are divided into two groups. The first group represents MacTavish tartans, which includes surnames that are variants of MacTavish, such as Thompson, Thomson, and Holmes. The second group represents tartans of associated family names, formerly known as septs, including Todd, Stephenson, Stevenson, and their variants Stephens, Stevens, and Stinson.^[187]

All tartan names and reference numbers are consistent with those registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans.^[188] Some vendors offer "ancient" versions of these tartans, such as MacTavish or Thom(p)son Ancient Hunting and MacTavish Ancient Red; these are not historically ancient tartans but are modern recreations using dyes intended to simulate the plant and animal dyes used in earlier centuries.^[189]

MacTavish Surname Tartans

Tartan	Name	SRT Ref	STA Ref	STWR Ref
	MacTavish/Thompson/Thomson 1880 Tartan	4115	229	229
	MacTavish/Thompson/Thomson 1906 Tartan	4114	230	228
	MacTavish/Thompson/Thomson Dress Blue Tartan	2769	1383	1383
	MacTavish/Thompson/Thomson Hunting Tartan	2770	282	2093
	MacTavish of Dunardry Dress Tartan	10731
	MacTavish/Thompson/Thomson Camel Tartan	4121	2421	2421
	Thompson/Thomson/MacTavish Special Grey Tartan	4119	325	2758
	Thompson Grey Dress Tartan	4111	1611	1611
	Holmes Tartan	1752	5729

Associated Family Name Tartans (Septs)

Tartan	Name	SRT Ref	STA Ref	STWR Ref
	Stephens Tartan	3915	7029
	Stephens Dress Tartan	3916	7030
	Stephenson Tartan	3917	517	517
	Stephenson Hunting #2 Tartan	3919	770	770
	Stevens (Personal) Tartan	3920	6664
	Stevenson (Personal) Tartan	3927	1558	1558
	Stinson Tartan	3962	438	438
	Todd Tartan	4132	5107

Crest Badge

The crest badge suitable for members of Clan MacTavish contains the crest and motto of the clan chief. The crest is blazoned a boar's head erased or langued proper.^[190] The boar's head crest of the MacTavish chiefs derives directly from the ancestral Boar Kings of Guill and Irguill in Ireland — specifically Nuada Uirc, whose name means Boar in Old Irish — predating any heraldic use of the boar by the Campbells, whose own mythological ancestor Diarmid O'Duibhne was famed as a boar slayer rather than a boar king.^[191] The motto is NON OBLITUS,^[192] which seems to translate from Latin as "not forgetful".^[193] But this is only one translation. Latin authorities often cite non-oblitus associated with funerary text, in which the deceased is commemorated. Thus, Non oblitus post mortem me, expounds the sentiment, "Do not forget me after death".

Non Oblitus standing alone expounds "Not Forgotten". Patrick L. Thompson, Seannachie to the 27th Chief, notes that Latin authorities often cite non-oblitus in funerary contexts where the deceased is commemorated — suggesting the MacTavish motto carries the sentiment "Not Forgotten" in a commemorative rather than admonitory sense, distinct from the Campbell motto Ne Obliviscaris which is most accurately translated as "Do Not Forget" rather than the commonly given "Forget Not".^[194] The distinction between the two mottos reflects independent clan identities confirmed when Lord Lyon Sir Malcolm Innes of Edingight formally matriculated Edward Stewart Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry as 26th Chief of Clan MacTavish on 23 July 1997, ending a dormancy of approximately 200 years and confirming the unbroken Dunardry chiefly line.^[195]

Chiefly arms

1793 Lachlan MacTavish of Dunardry — First Formal Matriculation

In 1793, John Hooke-Campbell, Lord Lyon King of Arms, granted the first formal coat of arms to Lachlan MacTavish of Dunardry: Quarterly, 1st and 4th a Gyronny of eight Sable and Or; 2nd and 3rd, Argent, a buck's head cabossed Gules attired Or on a chief engrailed Azure a cross crosslet fitchèe between two mullets Or. Crest a boar's head erased Or langued Gules. Motto: NON OBLITUS. These arms were recorded in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, Volume 1, Folio 563, dated 17 April 1793.^[196]

The arms display in the first and fourth quarters the gyronny prominent in Campbell heraldry. Patrick L. Thompson documents in History of Clan MacTavish that Hooke-Campbell's appointment as Lord Lyon was purely political and that he left most decisions to his deputy Robert Boswell — it is Boswell's name that appears on the majority of armorial matriculations of the period. Thompson concludes that the MacTavishes in all probability have no true or direct link to the Campbells, yet the gyronny was included, likely reflecting the feudal relationship between MacTavish and the Earls of Argyll rather than a genealogical connection.^[197][198]

Arms were simultaneously matriculated for Simon McTavish of Garthbeg as a cadet of the House of Dunardry, enclosed in a bordure Or indicating junior status. Thompson notes that a bordure of the second is reserved for the first offshoot of the main stem, which Garthbeg does not appear to be — no direct link to the chiefly family at Dunardry is documented — and the arms were likely matriculated in error regarding the specific bordure assigned.^[199]

A claim has been made that MacTavish arms derive from or are subordinate to Thomson armigers — specifically that MacTavish represents a cadet branch of a senior Thomson house. Patrick L. Thompson's analysis in Understanding MacTavish and Thomson Heraldry (2017) demonstrates this is heraldically impossible. The main charge granted to most Thomson armigers is a stag's head cabossed — which appears on their arms simply due to similarity in surname and does not indicate common descent. The single Thomson armorial bearing a bucks head — Thomson of Caltonhill — is itself badly blazoned, violating cadency rules within his own documented family line.

Thompson concludes: "Literally, there is no foundation for MacTavish being a cadet of any Scottish Lowland, Midland, or Border Thomson family lineage. No historical records exist that would even suggest such a relationship."^[200][201] Lord Lyon David Sellar confirmed in official correspondence of 20 May 2013 that there is no familial or heraldic relationship between MacTavish and the Lowland Thomsons.^{[202][203][204][205]}

2013 Lord Lyon Matriculates New Arms for 27th Chief of Clan MacTavish

On 30 August 2013 The Court of the Lord Lyon matriculated new arms for Steven Edward Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry, 27th Hereditary Chief of the Clan MacTavish as follows: Quarterly, first and fourth, Argent, a buck's head Gules attired Or, on a chief engrailed azure a cross-crosslett between two mullets Argent, second, gyronny of eight Sable and Or; and third, Argent a lymphad sails furled oars in action Sable flagged Gules.

Above the Shield is placed a Helm befitting his degree, with mantling Gules doubled Argent, and on a wreath of the liveries is set for crest, a boar's head erased Or langued Proper, and in a scroll over the same this Motto 'NON OBLITUS'. Recorded on the 98th page, of the 91st Volume of the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland.

The addition of a Lymphad — an ancient West Highland sailing ship — was added as the petitioner showed this charge was historical, used by a MacTavish ancestor at Dunorsan.^[209][210]