MacKenzie

Gaelic: Mac Coinnich

Motto: Cuidiche an righ
“The king's tribute”

Badge: Stagshorn clubmoss

Lands: Ross and Cromarty, Isle of Lewis

Pipe Music: Caber Féidh

Name Origin: Gaelic, MacCoinnich (Son of the fair)

Famous MacKenzies:
Phillip Charles MacKenzie – Actor/Director (According to Jim, Frasier)
Alastair Mackenzie – British Actor (Monarch of the Glen)

From the Gaelic "Maccoinneach" meaning "fair, bright one", the MacKenzies are thought to descend from the ancient royal house of Lorn. The clan held lands in Ross-shire, stretching from the Outer Hebrides in the west, to the Black Isle in the east. The Mackenzies are said to descend from Gillean of the Aird, the 12th century ancestors of the Earl of Ross and by the end of the 13th century they were settled at Eilean Donan, now one of the most photographed castles in Scotland.

For a clan who were of no particular consequence in ancient days, the MacKenzie clan achieved an exceptional degree of political eminence between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. They were resolute in their loyalty to the Stewart monarchy, and were rewarded for this when they were created Earls of Seaforth. This loyalty is symbolized in the clan’s motto and also in the appearance of a stag's head (a feudal gift to a king) in the chief's coat of arms.

 

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