So what’s this Clans and Septs ‘Thang’?

This is a huge and involved topic so I'm just giving you a quick taste here. You can read more on Irish Clans and Septs at the links at the bottom of the page.

Clan in the Irish Language mean's family. It's generally referred to as a group of people that can trace common descent from a single ancestor. In actuality most names in Ireland are descended from a handful of original Irish families, actually making them 'Septs' of the larger 'Clan'. So in all actuality you could say a Clan is a group of cousins.

The 'sept' names came from the given name of an ancestor. They normally would place a Mac, Fitz, or an O in front of the name. Examples would be MacDonald (son of Donald), O'Connell (grandson of Connell), FitzAllen (son of Allen). You'll also see "Ní', which means daughter of. There's a few others too such as 'Ban' or 'Ua' in very old records. People were also at times given names based on a nickname that described the family member or the profession of the family member. These names were all part and parcel of the larger Clans.

Clans actually came first from Ireland and moved to Scotland. This is argued a lot but actually the system came to Scotland from Ireland about 1000 AD. Scotland is actually taken from a Latin word meaning Irish. See they are in denial!

Contrary to what you may have heard the Clan system in Ireland never was as structured as in Scotland and it's function was not the same. In brief, it was a feudal, hereditary and social system. The Clans were actually groups of families that could trace, or just imagined themselves as part of a line, to a common ancestor. That ancestor was always a King, don't you know. As usual there was a lot of fighting over everything and typically most of these folks got along great until someone 'got their Irish up'.

Today's Clans in Ireland do not resemble the original Clans of Ireland in any way. They are no longer a living arrangement nor way of life. Today it's all mostly fluff. (watch me get trounced for that).

Further Reading

• 100 Irish Surnames Explained
• Definition of The Irish Clan (sept) System
• The Early Tribes and Septs
• History of the Clan in Ireland: also the MacDermot Clan names
• Ancient Divisions of the Family
• The Chieftainries (in Ireland); From More Irish Families by Edward MacLysaght
  The copyright of the article So what’s this Clans and Septs ‘Thang’? in Irish Genealogy is owned by Leona MacDonald. Permission to republish So what’s this Clans and Septs ‘Thang’? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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