Does a difference in how a family name is spelled matter when determining a clan association?
The short, but positive answer is ‘No’. Deviations in how a family name is spelt does not matter.
So why do we have all the different spellings?
Standardized spelling is a very modern convention. It really only goes back to around the mid 19th century. Also, you’ll have differences between the Gallic spelling of a name and its anglicized equivalent, giving you spelling variations of the same name.
Pertinent to the United States there is also the ‘human factor’. How different people would have spelt names in the old country (Europe), say on church records – versus how it may have been misspelled, or wrote it down in shorthand when settlers were received at Ellis Island.
Literacy standards at the time were not the same as they are today. Gaelic migrants may not have even known the correct spelling of their own names, not to mention the official record keepers.
There may be some minor exceptions to that, but as a general rule, the variances are just the surviving examples of the name being used and written down in different ways over time. These are the reasons why we have multiple spellings for the same name.
For example, McCauley, MaCauley, MacAulay and McAuley!
Are they different clans? Unlikely – they are Clan MacAulay.
What about Family Tartan?
Perhaps the exception, from a Tartan perspective, could be if a derivative of a family surname has proceeded to register a different Tartan variant, say in the 1930’s. It may differ, perhaps completely, from the original Tartan of a family name. Does that make wrong? I guess it depends on how far you wish to go back through history.
Family Tartans could have varied many times throughout history. The Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT) was only formed in 2009! Though it subsumed many historical Tartan registries.
Also, clan Tartans can have 5 main variations of Tartan. These are:
- Ancient
- Modern
- Hunting
- Dress
- Weathered
There are numerous other official or unofficial variations. Some Tartan designs may not even be affiliated with any group but were simply created for aesthetic reasons.
To Conclude
These inconsistencies didn’t matter nearly as much as they do now, but does a family name spelling matter when determining a clan association is a common question. It confuses people all the time because we are raised to think that there’s a difference, but most of the time there’s not.
So you will want to make sure that from a Clan and Tartan perspective you’re not dishonoring your heritage – that your ancestors will not be rolling over in their graves! Don’t worry, it’s most likely the same name, the same Tartan – possibly.
If you are still in doubt, do some more research!
