Clan Robertson

also Donnachaidh

Children of Duncan, fierce when roused.

Origin: Perthshire, Scotland
Motto: Garg 'n uair dhuisgear
Famous bearer: Alexander Robertson of Struan (c.1670–1749), poet, chief of Clan Donnachaidh, Jacobite of the '15 and '45
Register: Scottish clan

Territory of Robertson

The seat of Clan Robertson

Seat vacant

Chief

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

The Robertson 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 Robertson clan →

Motto

Garg 'n uair dhuisgear

“Fierce when roused”

What does the Robertson name mean?

Anglicised from Clann Dhonnchaidh, children of Duncan. The change to 'Robertson' dates to Robert Riabhach Duncanson, 4th chief.

The history of Clan Robertson

The Robertsons, or Clann Dhonnchaidh, children of Duncan, descend from the Celtic Earls of Atholl, themselves of the line of the kings of Dalriada. 'Stout Duncan' was a minor landowner and chief in Highland Perthshire in the early 1300s.

Loyal to the Bruce and Stewart royal lines, the clan also earned a reputation as raiders and feuders in medieval Scotland. The change of surname dates to the 4th chief, Robert Riabhach (Grizzled) Duncanson, who tracked down and brought to justice the murderers of James I in 1437.

The Robertsons fought in both the 1715 and 1745 Risings. Through the 18th and early 19th centuries the chiefs refused to clear their fellow clansmen for the more profitable sheep, a rare and honourable choice in the era of the Clearances.

Champions of the Robertson name

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

William Robertson
The Old Greyfriars minister who led the University of Edinburgh through the high Scottish Enlightenment and wrote the histories that taught Europe how to write narrative history.

Notable bearers of the Robertson name

Alexander Robertson of Struan (c.1670–1749), poet, chief of Clan Donnachaidh, Jacobite of the '15 and '45

Stories of Clan Robertson

Struan joins the prince at Glenfinnan
1745
On the afternoon of the nineteenth of August 1745, on the grass shelf above the head of Loch Shiel where the Glenfinnan monument now stands, Charles Edward Stuart raised the standard of his father James VIII and the Jacobite cause for the second time in thirty years. About one thousand two hundred Highland clansmen were on the hillside by sunset, principally Camerons of Lochiel and MacDonalds of Clanranald and Glenaladale and Glencoe. Among the older men in the assembly was the chief of Clan Donnachaidh, Alasdair Ruadh Robertson of Struan, then aged seventy-five, the same Robertson who had brought his clan out for the Old Pretender in 1715, who had been wounded at Sheriffmuir, who had been pardoned and returned to his estates in 1731. He had walked from his house at Struan, fifteen miles east of the head of Loch Shiel, to the gathering at Glenfinnan, in the company of about four hundred of his men. He was, by every contemporary report, the oldest man on the field. He went home to Struan with a captured English officer's coach after the Jacobite victory at Prestonpans six weeks later. The coach is, by tradition, what the prince gave him to ride home in because he could no longer walk the distance.
Read the story →

Frequently asked

What does the surname Robertson mean?

Anglicised from Clann Dhonnchaidh, children of Duncan. The change to 'Robertson' dates to Robert Riabhach Duncanson, 4th chief. The Robertsons, or Clann Dhonnchaidh, children of Duncan, descend from the Celtic Earls of Atholl, themselves of the line of the kings of Dalriada.

Where does the Robertson family come from?

The Robertson family is rooted in Perthshire, in Scotland. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Atholl & Strathearn. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Is Robertson a Scotland surname?

Yes, Robertson 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 Robertson surname?

The Robertsons, or Clann Dhonnchaidh, children of Duncan, descend from the Celtic Earls of Atholl, themselves of the line of the kings of Dalriada. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Robertson name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Robertson family known for?

Children of Duncan, fierce when roused. The Robertsons, or Clann Dhonnchaidh, children of Duncan, descend from the Celtic Earls of Atholl, themselves of the line of the kings of Dalriada.

What is the Robertson motto?

The motto of the Robertson family is "Garg 'n uair dhuisgear", which translates as "Fierce when roused". Family mottoes were registered with the chief of the name and carried on the heraldic arms and battle-banners.

What does "Garg 'n uair dhuisgear" mean in English?

"Garg 'n uair dhuisgear" is the motto of the Robertson family. In English it means "Fierce when roused". 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 Robertson?

The best-known bearer of the Robertson name is Alexander Robertson of Struan (c.1670–1749), poet, chief of Clan Donnachaidh, Jacobite of the '15 and '45. Their life and connection to the family are profiled in full on the dedicated champion page.

What stories are told about the Robertson family?

The Robertson family is associated with Struan joins the prince at Glenfinnan. 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 Struan joins the prince at Glenfinnan?

On the afternoon of the nineteenth of August 1745, on the grass shelf above the head of Loch Shiel where the Glenfinnan monument now stands, Charles Edward Stuart raised the standard of his father James VIII and the Jacobite cause for the second time in thirty years. About one thousand two hundred Highland clansmen were on the hillside by sunset, principally Camerons of Lochiel and MacDonalds of Clanranald and Glenaladale and Glencoe. The event is dated to 1745.

Is Donnachaidh the same family as Robertson?

Yes. Donnachaidh is a historical spelling variant of the Robertson 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 Robertson surname found today?

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

The Clan Rising page for the Robertson 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 Robertson family today?

The seat for the head of the Robertson 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.