The Clans of Ireland & Scotland

A Clan (from Gaelc clann, ‘children’) is a traditional kinship group sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage based society. Clans in indigenous societies tend to be exogamous, meaning that their members cannot marry one another. Clans preceded more centralized forms of community organization and government and they have traces in every country. The following maps show the names and territories of historical Irish and Scottish clans (click images to enlarge).

Here’s another map of Irish clans with even more familiar sounding names:

Now to Scotland:

And here’s another map of Scottish clans with even more clans and their coats of arms: