Clan Rising

Clan Fraser

Of Lovat, 'I am ready'.

Origin
The Highlands & Islands, Scotland
Motto
Je suis prest
Famous bearer
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat
Register
Scottish clan
Territory of Fraser

The seat of Clan Fraser

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Clan Fraser 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 Fraser has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Fraser 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 Fraser clan →

Motto

Je suis prest

“I am ready”

What does the Fraser name mean?

From the Old French 'fraisier', strawberry plant, surviving on the family arms as a fraise. Anglo-Norman in origin, settling in Scotland in the 12th century.

The history of Clan Fraser

The Frasers are of Anglo-Norman origin, settling in Scotland in the 12th century. Two principal branches developed: the Frasers of Philorth, who became Lord Saltoun, and the Frasers of Lovat, the Highland clan based in Inverness-shire.

Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat (c.1667–1747), played a famously duplicitous role through the Jacobite period. He was eventually executed on Tower Hill for his part in the 1745 Rising, the last man beheaded in Britain.

The clan rebuilt in the following generations, with Simon Fraser of Lovat raising the 78th Fraser Highlanders, who fought at Quebec under Wolfe and helped open Canada to British settlement.

Champions of the Fraser name

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

Historic Places, Rebuilt

Explore the streets and seats the Fraser name knew, rebuilt with AI as they stood in history.

Or recreate your own castle →

Historic Places, Rebuilt · New

Explore Inverness in 1745Enter →

The old castle above the River Ness, the market cross and the seven-arched bridge, on the eve of Culloden.

Historic Places, Rebuilt · New

Explore Urquhart Castle in 1509Enter →

The great castle guarding the Great Glen, newly granted to the Grants of Freuchie, whole above Loch Ness.

Castles the Fraser held

Strongholds this name held for a decade or more, look one up, or rebuild it to explore.

  • Beaufort Castle

    Seat of the Frasers of Lovat, Dounie Castle, built c. 1400, was razed after Culloden; the present house was built for the 13th Lord Lovat in 1880 and sold in 1994.

  • Castle Fraser

    Built as the home of the Frasers of Muchalls, later Frasers of Castle Fraser; passed down through the Lords Fraser and the Frasers of Inverallochy.

  • Aboyne Castle

    Held by the Frasers of Cowie before passing by marriage to the Keiths around 1355.

  • Neidpath Castle

    Probably built by Simon Fraser of Oliver Castle, 1263–1266; held by the Frasers until the early 14th century.

  • Muchalls Castle

    The Frasers of Muchalls built the 13th-century tower house core; held until it passed to the Hays in the 15th century.

  • Mugdock Castle

    Purchased by Hugh Fraser, later Lord Fraser, in 1945; his son gifted castle and estate for a country park in 1981.

  • Cairnbulg Castle

    Fraser castle from the 1380 marriage of the 5th Earl of Ross's daughter to Sir Alexander Fraser of Cowie; sold in 1613, bought back by Lord Saltoun in 1934.

  • Lovat Castle

    Held by the Frasers of Lovat from Simon Fraser's 13th-century marriage to a Bisset heiress until the castle was dismantled in 1671.

  • Oliver Castle

    Originally a Fraser stronghold, perhaps named for Oliver Fraser; Sir Bernard and Sir Gilbert Fraser held the hereditary sheriffdom of Tweeddale from the castle.

  • Pitsligo Castle

    The Frasers of Philorth built the great flanking drum tower at the north-east angle of the courtyard.

  • Moniack Castle

    Built by members of Clan Fraser in 1580; seat of the Moniack Frasers, who hold the castle to this day.

  • Blackcraig Castle

    Built and held by the artist-architect Patrick Allan Fraser from 1856 until his death in 1890.

  • Dalcross Castle

    The Frasers of Lovat owned the property; the 6th Lord Lovat built the castle in 1621.

Castles that share the Fraser name

The same name on the map, look one up, see what it looked like in its prime, and recreate it to explore.

Castle Fraser, ScotlandCastle FraserRestored · prime 1850

All castles in Scotland → · Strongest castles in Scotland → · Castles of Europe

Play As Your Clan

Explore history as a FraserStart your story →

Pick any year from 500 to 1945 and any place on earth, the Fraser country, or a shore no Fraser ever reached. The chronicler sets the scene; the deeds are yours.

Notable bearers of the Fraser name

  • Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat
  • Simon Fraser of Lovat, raiser of the 78th Highlanders

Stories of Clan Fraser

Frequently asked

What does the surname Fraser mean?

From the Old French 'fraisier', strawberry plant, surviving on the family arms as a fraise. Anglo-Norman in origin, settling in Scotland in the 12th century. The Frasers are of Anglo-Norman origin, settling in Scotland in the 12th century.

Where does the Fraser family come from?

The Fraser family is rooted in The Highlands & Islands, in Scotland. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Inverness & the Aird. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Is Fraser Scottish or Irish?

Fraser is a Scottish surname; its home on this atlas is Scotland, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated. The same or similar spellings can surface in Irish records, but the lineage documented on this page is the Scottish one.

How old is the Fraser surname?

The Frasers are of Anglo-Norman origin, settling in Scotland in the 12th century. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Fraser name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Fraser family known for?

Of Lovat, 'I am ready'. The Frasers are of Anglo-Norman origin, settling in Scotland in the 12th century.

What is the Fraser motto?

The motto of the Fraser family is "Je suis prest", which translates as "I am ready". Family mottoes were registered with the chief of the name and carried on the heraldic arms and battle-banners.

What does "Je suis prest" mean in English?

"Je suis prest" is the motto of the Fraser family. In English it means "I am ready". The phrase is typically rendered in Latin, though some Highland families carry their motto in Gaelic and some Norman lines in Old French.

Is there a Fraser family crest or coat of arms?

There is no single coat of arms that belongs to everyone named Fraser. Heraldic arms were granted to individuals and descend through specific documented lines, so a "family crest" matched to a surname alone is decorative rather than genealogical. In Scots heraldry the convention is different again: clansfolk wear the chief's crest inside a strap-and-buckle badge, the crest stays the chief's property, worn in allegiance rather than owned. The motto associated with the principal line is "Je suis prest".

Who is the most famous Fraser?

The best-known bearer of the Fraser name is Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat. Other prominent figures of the family include Simon Fraser of Lovat, raiser of the 78th Highlanders.

Who are some famous Frasers?

Notable bearers of the Fraser name include Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat and Simon Fraser of Lovat, raiser of the 78th Highlanders. 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 Fraser family?

The Fraser family is associated with The last beheading on Tower Hill. 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 the last beheading on Tower Hill?

Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, was perhaps the most duplicitous magnate of his age. Born around 1667, exiled, made and unmade a Catholic and a Protestant, he had played both sides of every Jacobite crisis since 1690. The event is dated to 1747.

Who were the Fraser family's allies?

Historical allies of the Fraser family include Clan Stewart. Alliances were sealed by marriage, bond of manrent, fosterage, or shared confederation, and were as load-bearing in family history as the rivalries on the other side of the ledger.

Where is the Fraser surname found today?

Scotland is the primary historical home of the Fraser 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 Fraser family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Fraser family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, the family motto, famous bearers of the name, traditional stories, historical rivals and allies 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 Fraser family today?

The seat for the head of the Fraser 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.

Rivals and allies

Neighbouring clans