Clan MacNaughton

Origin of the Name

Clan MacNaughton bears one of Scotland's oldest names — one that connects the clan to the pre-Gaelic, Pictish world of early Scotland. The personal name Nechtan (later Neachdainn in Scots Gaelic) was a Pictish name of great antiquity, borne by several Pictish kings and recorded in the earliest Scottish historical sources. The most famous was Nechtan mac Derile, King of the Picts in the early 8th century, who is recorded as having expelled the Irish monks of the Columban tradition from his kingdom in 717 and brought the Pictish Church into conformity with Rome on the question of the Easter dating — a significant ecclesiastical and political act.

The meaning of Nechtan in its original Pictish form is generally translated as "pure" or "clean" — cognate with the Latin Neptūnus and possibly with water-purity concepts. The name was one of the most common Pictish royal names, appearing multiple times in the Pictish king-lists. By bearing a founder named Nechtan, Clan MacNaughton claims a lineage that predates the Gaelicisation of Scotland and reaches back to the Pictish kingdom.

Territory

The MacNaughton heartland is Argyll — specifically the shores of Loch Fyne and the surrounding country of mid-Argyll. Dunderave Castle, the clan seat, stands on the eastern shore of Loch Fyne near Inveraray, within sight of the Campbell stronghold. The MacNaughtons also held lands around Loch Awe and on the Cowal peninsula, giving the clan a substantial territorial presence in central Argyll at the height of their power.

The proximity to the Campbells of Argyll — the dominant force in the region — inevitably shaped MacNaughton history. Loch Fyne divides and connects territory; the castle at Dunderave faced the western shore where Campbell power was concentrated. The relationship between the two clans fluctuated between alliance and tension across centuries.

History of the Clan

Medieval origins

The MacNaughtons appear in Scottish historical records from the 13th century, holding substantial lands in Argyll under the Scottish Crown. The clan's Pictish name and the traditions associated with it suggest roots that may predate the documentary record, but it is from the 13th century that the clan appears as a distinct entity in charter evidence. The MacNaughton chiefs granted a charter for a church in Argyll in 1244, one of the earliest documentary references to the family name.

Jacobite commitment

The MacNaughtons supported the Jacobite cause — the attempt to restore the Stuart dynasty — with consistency across both the 1715 and 1745 risings. This commitment was costly: after the 1715 rising, the MacNaughton chief forfeited the clan estates including Dunderave Castle, which passed permanently out of MacNaughton hands. The loss of Dunderave was the end of the clan's territorial presence in Argyll as a coherent entity.

The MacNaughton Diaspora

MacNaughton families emigrated primarily to Canada — Nova Scotia and Ontario — in the Highland clearances of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The name is also well established in the United States, particularly in the Southeast where Highland Scots settled from the 18th century. The variants McNaughton, Naughton, and McNaughten appear in Irish and American records and may or may not be related to the Scottish clan.

Researching MacNaughton Ancestry

MacNaughton ancestry research focuses on Argyll — particularly the Loch Fyne area and the parishes of Lochgoilhead, Kilmorich, and surrounding Argyll communes. ScotlandsPeople holds the relevant Old Parish Registers and civil records.

The distinction from Irish Naughton

Researchers should be aware that the Irish surname Naughton (Ó Neachtain in Irish) shares the same Pictish root name but represents a distinct lineage. Irish-American Naughtons are generally descended from Connacht families, not the Scottish MacNaughton clan. The two lines converged from a common ancestral name but diverged thousands of years ago.