Clan MacKinnon

Origin of the Name and Clan

The MacKinnon name derives from the Gaelic Mac Fhionghuin, meaning "son of Fionnghan" — an ancient personal name incorporating fionn (fair, white) and a suffix suggesting birth or origin. The eponymous ancestor Fionnghan (anglicised as Fingon or Fingan) is placed by clan genealogies in the early medieval period, with the MacKinnons claiming descent from the Dalriadan royal house — specifically from Aodh Finn, a ninth-century king of the Scots of Dalriada.

The claim to be among the oldest clans in Scotland is not mere boasting. The MacKinnons appear in reliable historical records from the twelfth century onward, and their Gaelic pedigrees, though they must be treated with scholarly caution, trace a credible descent through the post-Viking period of Hebridean history. The clan is also said to include Abbots of Iona among its ancestors — the MacKinnons claim that the last hereditary Abbot of Iona before the Reformation was of their family, reflecting the clan's deep roots in the ancient Columban church of the western Highlands and islands.

What is historically certain is that the MacKinnons were established in Skye and Mull from at least the thirteenth century and that they maintained a presence there as recognised chiefs under both the Lords of the Isles and, after 1493, under the Scottish Crown, across several turbulent centuries.

Territory: Strathaird and Skye

The MacKinnon heartland is Strathaird, the peninsula that forms the southern arm of Loch Slapin on the Isle of Skye. This is dramatic country — dominated by the Blaven (Bla Bheinn) ridge of the Cuillin range rising to the northwest, and bounded by the sea on three sides. The small village of Elgol, at the tip of Strathaird, looks south across the Sound of Soay toward the small island of Soay and the open sea beyond.

The MacKinnons also held lands on Mull and at various times on Colonsay and other islands of the Inner Hebrides. Their position as vassals of the Lords of the Isles placed them within the great Hebridean political system that the MacDonalds had constructed, and when that system collapsed with the forfeiture of the Lordship in 1493, the MacKinnons were among the many island clans forced to negotiate a new relationship with the Scottish Crown.

History of the Clan

Under the Lords of the Isles

The MacKinnons' position within the Lordship of the Isles was that of a middle-ranking clan — significant enough to have witnessed charters at the Council of the Isles, but not among the great powers of the Hebridean world. They appear in MacDonald documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as hereditary guardians of certain religious functions and as military followers of the MacDonald lords. Their Skye territory gave them a strategically useful position, particularly for the sea routes between the southern Hebrides and the northern islands.

After the forfeiture of the Lordship in 1493, the MacKinnons attempted to maintain their position through a series of negotiations with the Crown and with their more powerful neighbours — principally the MacDonalds of Sleat and the MacLeods of Dunvegan. This was a delicate balance, and the clan's history in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries involves a series of feuds, alliances, and accommodations with the major powers of Skye.

The seventeenth century

The MacKinnons maintained a broadly Royalist and Catholic orientation through the seventeenth century, which aligned them with the Jacobite cause as it developed after 1688. Sir Lachlan MacKinnon, the chief at the time of the Restoration in 1660, was knighted by Charles II — a recognition of the family's loyalty to the Stuart cause during the years of the Covenant and the Interregnum.

The clan participated in the Jacobite rising of 1715 and paid the customary price of fines and temporary displacement of cattle. But the decisive test came in 1745.

Sheltering Bonnie Prince Charlie

The role of the MacKinnons in the aftermath of Culloden is one of the most romantic episodes in Jacobite history — and one of the most consequential for the clan's future. After the catastrophic defeat on 16 April 1746, Prince Charles Edward Stuart spent five months as a fugitive in the Highlands and islands before escaping to France in September. During this period, dozens of individuals risked their lives to shelter and guide him; the MacKinnons were among the most important.

In late June and early July 1746, the Prince was sheltered at Elgol on the tip of Strathaird — in the heartland of MacKinnon territory. John MacKinnon, the clan chief, and his wife are credited with hiding the Prince and providing him with food and shelter during one of the most dangerous periods of his flight. From Elgol, the chief personally accompanied the Prince by boat across Loch Nevis to the mainland, in one of the small open vessels that were the standard sea transport of the Hebrides.

The price of this loyalty was severe. John MacKinnon was captured by government forces shortly after helping the Prince and was imprisoned in London for a year. Other MacKinnons were imprisoned or fined. The clan's Strathaird estates were not forfeited — perhaps because the evidence against them stopped short of direct military service — but the costs of the '45 significantly weakened the family's position.

The MacKinnon Diaspora

The MacKinnon name spread through the Hebridean diaspora of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Skye was heavily affected by the Highland Clearances: the island's population fell dramatically from its early nineteenth-century peak as landlords converted the land to sheep farming, forcing families off land their ancestors had held for generations. Many MacKinnon families from Strathaird and the surrounding area emigrated to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario in Canada.

Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia became a major destination for Skye emigrants, and MacKinnon is among the characteristic surnames of the Cape Breton Scottish community. The Gaelic language, which continued to be spoken in Cape Breton long after it had declined in Skye itself, preserved cultural connections to the Hebridean homeland. The Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts at St Anns, Cape Breton, established in 1938, was partly funded and supported by descendants of these Skye emigrants.

MacKinnon is also found in Australia (particularly Victoria and South Australia, which received Scottish emigrants in the gold rush period and after) and in New Zealand. In the United States, the name is most concentrated in states that received significant Scottish immigrant populations — Massachusetts, New York, and the Carolinas.

Researching MacKinnon Ancestry

MacKinnon research benefits from the relatively concentrated original territory — Skye, Mull, and the adjacent islands — which makes the initial search manageable. The main challenge is the relatively late survival of Skye parish records.

Skye records

The Isle of Skye was divided among several parishes — Strath (which covers Strathaird), Sleat, Portree, Kilmuir, and Duirinish among them. Old Parish Registers for these parishes are available through ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk, though the Skye OPR records are less complete than those of mainland parishes. The Strath parish registers, covering the core MacKinnon territory, begin in the early nineteenth century for most events.

Nova Scotia and Cape Breton

For MacKinnon families who emigrated to Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Archives hold passenger lists, land grant records, and church registers for the Cape Breton and mainland Scottish communities. The Beaton Institute at Cape Breton University is a specialist resource for Cape Breton Gaelic heritage.

Clan MacKinnon Society

The Clan MacKinnon Society is active internationally and maintains genealogical resources with particular strength in Canadian MacKinnon communities. The Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre at Portree holds local records relevant to Skye families.