MacPhearson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Scotland

Etymology of MacPhearson

The Picts, an ancient Scottish tribe, were the ancestors of the first person to use the name MacPhearson. It was a name for a parson. The Gaelic forms of the names are Mac a' Phearsain and Mac a Phearsoin, which mean son of the parson. This was the surname of various ecclesiastical families in Scotland and is descended from a Chief of the great Clan Chattan ('tribe of the cats'), called Gille Chattan. This Chief can, in turn, be traced back to Feachar the Long, King of Lorn who died in 697 AD. The Clan's original territories were in Stratthnairn, Strathdearn and Badenoch from whence they long contested the leadership of the Clan Chattan with the MacKintoshes, who also claimed descent from the Gille Chattan through a female heiress.

MacPhearson Coat of Arms Creation

The Macphersons carry a cat as their crest, and their motto is " Touch not the cat bot (without) a glove."

The story is that young Angus Oig Macdonald went over to Ireland to help an Irish king, and there he got the king's daughter in marriage. While the clansmen after the nuptials were waiting to return to Scotland, there came into the camp an Irish piper, a Macneil, who managed to smuggle himself into one of the boats. A black cat followed, and when a Highlander tried to catch and throw it overboard, he got badly scratched for his pains, and the piper gave him the advice which became the motto of the clan, and the black cat accompanied them to Scotland. This piper when in Scotland took to preaching, married, and settled among the Argyllshire MacDonalds. His sons were known as Mhic a Pharson, and thus the Clan Macpherson originated.

The clan has a galley in its coat of arms, perhaps in memory of the trip to Ireland, or perhaps to their being once driven by stress of weather on to the coast of Caithness. They also carry a dagger, point up, for killing the Cummings, and " a black cat for luck " has been a proverb, for the Macphersons have been lucky since they settled in Scotland. They are a branch of the great Clan Chattan. 1

Early Origins of the MacPhearson family

Early History of the MacPhearson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacPhearson research. Another 524 words (37 lines of text) covering the years 1490, 1528, 1600, 1645, 1672, 1675, 1688, 1689, 1700, 1715, 1745, 1776, 1783, 1784 and 1932 are included under the topic Early MacPhearson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacPhearson Spelling Variations

Repeated and inaccurate translation of Scottish names from Gaelic to English and back resulted in a wide variety of spelling variations with single names. MacPhearson has appeared MacPherson, McPherson, MacPhersone, Mac a' Phearsoin (Gaelic) and many more.

Early Notables of the MacPhearson family

James MacPherson (1675-1700), the Scottish outlaw, famed for his Lament or Rant supposedly written on the eve of his execution, a version of which was rewritten by Robert Burns; and Colonel Duncan MacPherson, the Clan Chief, who commanded a battalion in North America from 1776 to...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early MacPhearson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the MacPhearson family

Many Scottish families suffered enormous hardships and were compelled to leave their country of birth. They traveled to Ireland and Australia, but mostly to the colonies of North America, where many found the freedom and opportunity they sought. It was not without a fight, though, as many were forced to stand up and defend their freedom in the American War of Independence. The ancestors of these Scots abroad have rediscovered their heritage in the last century through the Clan societies and other organizations that have sprung up across North America. Immigration and passenger ship lists show some important early immigrants bearing the name MacPhearson: Aeneas MacPherson, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1685; Alexander McPherson, who settled in south Carolina in 1716; along with Angus, Daniel, Donald, Duncan, John.