35 Scottish clan chiefs

The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and represents the clan. In the Scottish clan system, a chief is greater than a chieftain (ceann-cinnidh), a designation applied to heads of branches of a clan. Scottish clans that no longer have a clan chief are referred to as armigerous clans.

Archibald Angus Charles Kennedy, 8th Marquess of Ailsa, 19th Earl of Cassilis, 21st Lord Kennedy, 8th Baron Ailsa,, was a Scottish peer.

Alasdair Óg Mac Domhnaill was Lord of Islay and chief of Clann Domhnaill. He was the eldest son of Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill, Lord of Islay. Alasdair Óg seems to first appear on record in 1264, when he was held as a hostage of the Scottish Crown for his father's good behaviour. During Alasdair Óg's career, the Scottish realm endured a succession crisis as a result of the unexpected death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, heir to the Scottish throne, in 1290. One of several factions that staked a claim to the throne was the Bruce kindred. Both Alasdair Óg and his father were cosignatories of the Turnberry Band, a pact that may have partly concerned the Bruces' royal aspirations.

Alexander of Argyll, also known as Alexander of Lorne, and Alexander MacDougall, was a Scottish magnate from the late 13th and early 14th century.

Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian, Baron Kerr of Monteviot, commonly known as Michael Ancram, is a British politician who holds both hereditary and life peerages. He was formerly styled as the Earl of Ancram until he inherited the marquessate in 2004. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) successively for Berwick and East Lothian, Edinburgh South and Devizes. He served as a member of Margaret Thatcher's and John Major's ministries, followed by the Shadow Cabinet from 1997 to 2005, latterly as Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party under Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard.

Sir Ian Fife Campbell Anstruther, of that Ilk, 8th Baronet of Balcaskie and 13th Baronet of Anstruther, Hereditary Carver of the Sovereign, Hereditary Master of the Royal Household in Scotland, Chief of the Name and Arms of Anstruther FSA was a baronet twice over. He inherited substantial property interests in South Kensington and wrote several books on specialised areas of 19th-century social and literary history.

Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill was a leading figure in the thirteenth-century kingdoms of the Isles and Scotland. He was a son of Domhnall mac Raghnaill, the eponym of Clann Domhnaill, a branch of Clann Somhairle. Aonghus Mór appears to have succeeded his father in the mid part of the thirteenth century. At the time, the rulers of the Isles were fiercely independent of the Scottish Crown, and owed nominal allegiance to the distant Norwegian Crown. Aonghus Mór's first certain appearance in the historical record seems to evince his involvement in aiding native Irish kindreds against the consolidation of Anglo-Irish authority in the north-west Ireland. Such cooperation could have been undertaken in the context of overseas kindreds like Clann Domhnaill constructing Irish alliances to gain assistance against Scottish encroachment.

Aonghus Óg Mac Domhnaill, or Angus Og MacDonald, was a fourteenth-century Scottish magnate and chief of Clann Domhnaill. He was a younger son of Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill, Lord of Islay. After the latter's apparent death, the chiefship of the kindred was assumed by Aonghus Óg's elder brother, Alasdair Óg Mac Domhnaill.

John Campbell Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of Arbuthnott, was a Scottish peer, Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire (1977–99) and a notable businessman.

John Keith Oxley Arbuthnott, 17th Viscount of Arbuthnott, is a Scottish peer and businessman.

Sir Aulay MacAulay of Ardincaple was a Scottish laird, knight, clan chief, and a shire commissioner. He was the son and heir of Walter MacAulay Ardincaple, who was the laird of Ardincaple and chief of Clan MacAulay. The MacAulay estate of Ardincaple was situated in the location of the modern village of Rhu and Helensburgh, which both lie on the eastern shore of the Gare Loch, in Argyll and Bute. As chief of his clan, he entered into a contract with the chief of the MacGregors, pledging service and assistance to their chief. His clan feuded with the Buchanans, and his marriage to the widow of a deceased Galbraith chief brought forth feuding with that clan. He also feuded with the Campbells, particularly the Captain of Carrick. The Campbells made several attempts on his life and he was wounded one such encounter. Towards the end of his life he was knighted for his services. On his death he was succeeded by his first cousin.

James Brodie, 18th of Brodie was a Scottish clan chief and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1720.

Richard Walter John Montagu Douglas Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch and 12th Duke of Queensberry,, styled as Lord Eskdaill until 1973 and as Earl of Dalkeith from 1973 until 2007, is a Scottish landholder and peer. He is the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, as well as Chief of Clan Scott. He is the heir male of James, Duke of Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter.

Malcolm Ian Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness,, is a Scottish Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords as one of the remaining hereditary peers. He is also 20th Lord Berriedale, 15th Baronet, of Canisbay, Co. Caithness, and chief of Clan Sinclair. He is the Chief Executive of the Clan Sinclair Trust.

Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel was a Scottish highland chief, the 17th Lochiel.

Colonel Sir Donald Hamish Cameron of Lochiel KT CVO TD JP was the 26th Chief of Clan Cameron, a Scottish landowner and a financier. He was also known simply as Lochiel while clan chief.

Christina of the Isles was a fourteenth-century Scottish noblewoman. She was daughter of Ailéan mac Ruaidhrí, and a leading member of Clann Ruaidhrí. Although Ailéan had two sons, Lachlann and Ruaidhrí, both appear to have been illegitimate, whereas Christina was legitimate, and possibly a daughter of Ailéan's wife, Isabella.

Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll is a crossbench member of the House of Lords, chief of the Scottish clan Hay, and hereditary Lord High Constable of Scotland.

David Charles Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife is a British peer. He is the only surviving son of the late James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife, and his former wife Caroline Dewar. He was styled Earl of Macduff until 1992, and then Earl of Southesk until succeeding his father on 22 June 2015 as the fourth Duke of Fife and Chief of the Clan Carnegie. As a great-great-grandson of Edward VII, he is in the line of succession to the British throne. He is also the second cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II and the third cousin of former British Prime Minister David Cameron.

James George Alexander Bannerman Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife was a British landowner, farmer and peer. He was the grandson of Louise, Princess Royal, a daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. As a female-line great-grandson of a British sovereign, he did not carry out royal or official duties or receive any funds from the Civil List. He was the second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and King Harald V of Norway. Through his maternal grandfather, he was also a descendant of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan.

Patrick Robin Archibald Boyle, 10th Earl of Glasgow,, is a Scottish peer, politician and the current chief of Clan Boyle. The family seat is Kelburn Castle in Ayrshire. He currently sits as a Liberal Democrat peer in the House of Lords.

The Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 was an Act of Parliament passed in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745 abolishing judicial rights held by Scots heritors. These were a significant source of power, especially for clan chiefs since it gave them a large measure of control over their tenants.

Granville Charles Gomer Gordon, 13th Marquess of Huntly, styled Earl of Aboyne until 1987, is a Scottish peer and the Premier Marquess of Scotland.

Patrick Maitland, 17th Earl of Lauderdale

Patrick Francis Maitland, 17th Earl of Lauderdale,, styled The Hon. Patrick Maitland, Master of Lauderdale, from 1953 to 1968, was a Scottish Unionist politician.

Lachlann Mac Ruaidhrí was a Scottish magnate and chief of Clann Ruaidhrí. He was a free-booting participant in the First War of Scottish Independence, who remarkably took up arms against figures such as John, King of Scotland; Edward I, King of England; the Guardians of Scotland; and his near-rival William II, Earl of Ross. Lachlann disappears from record in 1307/1308, and appears to have been succeeded by his brother, Ruaidhrí, as chief of Clann Ruaidhrí.

Alexander Macdonald, 17th of Keppoch was a Scottish clan chief, military officer, and prominent Jacobite who took part in both the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite risings. He was killed at the Battle of Culloden leading a regiment composed largely of members of his clan, the Macdonalds of Keppoch.

Ranald George Macdonald was a Scottish clan chief and Member of Parliament.

Francis Alexander MacKinnon, The 35th MacKinnon of MacKinnon DL was the longest-lived Test cricketer until being surpassed by Eric Tindill of New Zealand on 8 November 2009. MacKinnon, who was 98 years, 324 days old when he died, was the oldest-ever first-class cricketer at that time.

Lady Mackintosh (1723–1784) was a Scottish Jacobite of the Clan Farquharson, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands and also the wife of Angus Mackintosh, chief of the Clan Mackintosh.

Duncan Alexander Eliott Mackintosh of Mackintosh-Torcastle and Clan Chattan was the 31st Chief of Clan Chattan, a confederation of Scottish Highland Clans. As a result of the 29th Chief's preferment of a more distant cousin and Arbell Mackintosh becoming the 30th Chief until her marriage to Anthony Warre it devolved on the 29th Chief's next heir in line, Duncan Alexander Eliott Mackintosh by the order of Lord Lyon King of Arms issued on 27 March 1947 who became 31st Chief and matriculated ‘as of right and without brisur or mark of cadency Ensigns armorial of and appropriate to Mackintosh of Mackintosh-Torcastle and Clan Chattan, marshalled as effeirs for the Inheritor of the Honourable the Clan Chattan… as Head of the ‘‘haill kin of Clan Chattan’’’. At this juncture the chieftainship of Mackintosh and Clan Chattan split.

General Sir Gordon Holmes Alexander MacMillan of MacMillan and Knap, was a professional soldier who rose to become a general in the British Army. As a young officer during the First World War, he displayed outstanding bravery and was awarded a Military Cross and two Bars. At the age of 19 and while still a second lieutenant, he was appointed acting adjutant of the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Between the World Wars, MacMillan remained in the army, occupying posts of increasing seniority. He married Marian Blakiston Houston in 1929, and they had one daughter and four sons.

James Charles Macnab of Macnab JP, otherwise known as The Macnab, was the 23rd Chief of Clan Macnab, and a member of the Royal Company of Archers, Queen Elizabeth II's bodyguard in Scotland.

Major-General Sir Evan John Murray-Macgregor of Macgregor, 2nd Baronet, was a Scottish colonial administrator and senior British army officer.

Donald Cameron lived in the Scottish Highlands during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. Born illegitimate, his father was Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, 14th chief of Clan Cameron, and his mother was the daughter of the chief of Clan MacDougall. Donald Cameron is claimed as the eponymous ancestor of the Taylor sept of Clan Cameron. He is alluded to in the coat of arms of the chief of Clan Cameron, as a likeness of him appears as the supporters holding a Lochaber axe.

Torquil MacNeill was a mid sixteenth century clan chief.