Clan Rising

Clan Buchanan

also Clan Buchanan

House of the canon, guardians of the Loch Lomond shore.

Origin
Argyll & the West Coast, Scotland
Motto
Clarior hinc honos
Famous bearer
George Buchanan (1506–1582), humanist scholar, tutor to James VI
Register
Scottish clan
Territory of Buchanan

CoreHistoric reach

The seat of Clan Buchanan

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Clan Buchanan community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Clan Buchanan has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Buchanan clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the Buchanan clan →

Motto

Clarior hinc honos

“Hence the brighter honour”

What does the Buchanan name mean?

From the Gaelic Buth-Chananaich, 'house of the canon', referring to the lands on the east shore of Loch Lomond, near Killearn, that were held by the chief in the 13th century. The Buchanans of Buchanan claim descent from Anselan O'Cathan, an Ulster prince said to have settled in the Lennox in the 11th century after the Battle of Clontarf; the more solidly documented chiefly line begins with Gilbert of Buchanan in the early 13th century. The clan's territory was the strategically vital strip of country between Loch Lomond and the river Forth, the doorway between the Highlands and the Lowlands.

The history of Clan Buchanan

The Buchanans were among the smaller Highland clans by extent but tightly bound to the Lennox earls and, through them, to the Crown. They fought for Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn in 1314, for the Scottish crown at Flodden in 1513, and (under Sir George Buchanan) for the Covenant in the 17th century. The chiefly line failed in the male line in 1762 with the death of the 22nd Laird, and the clan went without a chief for 254 years, the longest such gap in major Scottish clan history, until John Michael Baillie-Hamilton Buchanan was recognised by the Lord Lyon as the 33rd Chief in 2018.

George Buchanan (1506–1582), the Killearn-born scholar, was tutor to the young James VI of Scotland and one of the foremost Latin poets and political theorists of Renaissance Europe, his De Iure Regni apud Scotos (1579) was a foundational text of resistance theory in Calvinist Europe. James Buchanan (1791–1868), the 15th President of the United States, was descended from a Stony Batter, Pennsylvania-Buchanan emigrant family from Ramelton in north Donegal, Ulster-Scots-Buchanans whose immediate origin was Stirlingshire-Buchanan stock. Jack Buchanan (1890–1957), the Helensburgh-born musical-theatre star, was the West End's answer to Fred Astaire.

Champions of the Buchanan name

The bearers whose lives are inseparable from this surname. Each has its own page — biography, achievements, geography, connection to the family.

Notable bearers of the Buchanan name

  • George Buchanan (1506–1582), humanist scholar, tutor to James VI
  • James Buchanan (1791–1868), 15th President of the United States
  • Jack Buchanan (1890–1957), musical-theatre star
  • Pat Buchanan (b. 1938), American political commentator

Stories of Clan Buchanan

Frequently asked

What does the surname Buchanan mean?

From the Gaelic Buth-Chananaich, 'house of the canon', referring to the lands on the east shore of Loch Lomond, near Killearn, that were held by the chief in the 13th century. The Buchanans of Buchanan claim descent from Anselan O'Cathan, an Ulster prince said to have settled in the Lennox in the 11th century after the Battle of Clontarf; the more solidly documented chiefly line begins with Gilbert of Buchanan in the early 13th century. The clan's territory was the strategically vital strip of country between Loch Lomond and the river Forth, the doorway between the Highlands and the Lowlands. The Buchanans were among the smaller Highland clans by extent but tightly bound to the Lennox earls and, through them, to the Crown.

Where does the Buchanan family come from?

The Buchanan family is rooted in Argyll & the West Coast, in Scotland. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Lennox. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Where did the Buchanan family historically hold territory?

At its greatest historical extent, the Buchanan name has been concentrated in Stirling. The atlas page distinguishes the core territory of the name from this wider historical reach with hatched silhouettes on the map.

Is Buchanan a Scotland surname?

Yes, Buchanan is a Scotland surname. Its editorial home in this atlas is Scotland, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated.

How old is the Buchanan surname?

The Buchanans were among the smaller Highland clans by extent but tightly bound to the Lennox earls and, through them, to the Crown. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Buchanan name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Buchanan family known for?

House of the canon, guardians of the Loch Lomond shore. The Buchanans were among the smaller Highland clans by extent but tightly bound to the Lennox earls and, through them, to the Crown.

What is the Buchanan motto?

The motto of the Buchanan family is "Clarior hinc honos", which translates as "Hence the brighter honour". Family mottoes were registered with the chief of the name and carried on the heraldic arms and battle-banners.

What does "Clarior hinc honos" mean in English?

"Clarior hinc honos" is the motto of the Buchanan family. In English it means "Hence the brighter honour". The phrase is typically rendered in Latin, though some Highland families carry their motto in Gaelic and some Norman lines in Old French.

Who is the most famous Buchanan?

The best-known bearer of the Buchanan name is George Buchanan (1506–1582), humanist scholar, tutor to James VI. Other prominent figures of the family include James Buchanan (1791–1868), 15th President of the United States, Jack Buchanan (1890–1957), musical-theatre star and Pat Buchanan (b. 1938), American political commentator.

Who are some famous Buchanans?

Notable bearers of the Buchanan name include George Buchanan (1506–1582), humanist scholar, tutor to James VI, James Buchanan (1791–1868), 15th President of the United States, Jack Buchanan (1890–1957), musical-theatre star and Pat Buchanan (b. 1938), American political commentator. Each is profiled on the family page, with cross-links to the geography, stories, and historical events tied to their life.

What stories are told about the Buchanan family?

The Buchanan family is associated with George Buchanan, tutor to James VI. Each story has its own page on this site with the full account, the date, the location, and the other families involved.

What is the story of George Buchanan, tutor to James VI?

From 1570 until 1578 the most distinguished Latinist in northern Europe, George Buchanan of Killearn, in his sixties, scholar of St Andrews and Bordeaux and Coimbra, formerly Principal of St Leonard's College, formerly Moderator of the General Assembly, formerly tutor to Mary Queen of Scots when she was a French princess, was the daily tutor of King James VI of Scotland in the schoolroom at Stirling Castle, where the boy-king (orphaned, abdicated for, four years old at the start of the lessons) was being raised under the regents Lennox, Mar and Morton. Buchanan beat the boy. The event is dated to 1579.

Is Clan Buchanan the same family as Buchanan?

Yes. Clan Buchanan is a historical spelling variant of the Buchanan name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the Buchanan surname found today?

Scotland is the primary historical home of the Buchanan surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same Scotland origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Buchanan family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Buchanan family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, the family motto, famous bearers of the name, traditional stories and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of Scotland so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Buchanan family today?

The seat for the head of the Buchanan family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.

Neighbouring clans