Septs are families that followed another clan’s chief. These smaller septs would then be part of the chief's larger clan. A sept might follow another chief if two families were linked through marriage, or, if a family lived on the land of a powerful laird, they would follow him whether they were related or not.
If you have genealogical ties to the surname Macneil or any of Clan Macneil's Sept family names shown, you were born into the Clan Macneil and we’d love to have you join us!
Clan
A clan is a social group made up of a number of distinct branch-families that actually descended from, or accepted themselves as descendants of, a common ancestor. The word clan means simply children.
Mac or Mc (and sometimes O)
Scottish surnames frequently have the prefix Mac or Mc which means “son of” The prefix was added either to the father’s first name, or nickname. It could also be added to the father’s occupation.
There was a period of time known as the "Gaelic revival" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when there was a push to revive and use the Gaelic language in Scotland and Ireland. During this period, there was some encouragement to use Gaelic forms of names, rather than anglicized versions. However, it was not a ban on the use of Mac, Mc, or O' in names. It was more of a cultural movement and not enforced by law. Keep this in mind if you're doing family research since it likely had an impact on record keeping.
