Article

MacLennan

Motto: Dum spiro spero (While I breathe I hope)

The names Logan and MacLennan are often considered to be interchangeable and refer to the same Clan, but they are separate.  Logan appears to be a topographical name in origin and means ‘a little hollow’.  MacLennan comes from the Gaelic ‘Mac Ghille Fhinnein’, meaning ‘son of the servant of St. Fillan.  Confusion between the two names occurs because the progenitor of the MacLennans is said to have been brought up by the monks of Beauley and one of his descendants became a devotee of Finan, a popular Highland saint, and in turn his descendants were called ‘the sons of the follower of St. Fillan’ – MacLennen.  

The MacLennans were a small clan living in the Kintail District and where they were followers of the MacKenzies of Kintail, the Earls of Seaforth.  They acted as standard bearers to the chief of the MacKenzies; they may have been custodians of the castle at Eilean Donan.  

The MacLellans carried the standard for Lord Seaforth against the Marquess of Montrose and the royalist cause in 1645.  At Culloden eleven MacLennans were recorded as being taken prisoner.  

Prior to the 14th century, the history of the Clan is somewhat obscure, linking to ancient royal Celtic families of Ireland and Scotland.