Surname

As explained above one form of the surname is used for all entries, but the form preferred by later members of the family in question may appear in the "ADDITIONAL INFO" column against some clanspeople. Be aware too that some M'millans were occasionally - or always - recorded in Scotland with other surnames, such as Bell, Cameron, or Buchanan (for reasons given elsewhere on this website - see Septs, Clan MacMillan History, and Genealogy pages) These are outwith the Members' section so you'll need to re-enter using the "Members' pages" login. Where an individual is known to have been recorded with one or more of these other surnames he or she will appear in the relevant index listing with an "alias ..." entry in brackets; e.g. Finlay (alias Cameron) M'millan.

First name

The "given-names" - as Scots usually called them - of most people born in Scotland before 1900 have been entered in standardised modern English forms so as to avoid the confusion emanating from spelling variations and Gaelic-English translations. In some cases however, where an individual is recorded with differing English names as translations of one Gaelic name (e.g. as Donald and Daniel or Peter and Patrick) both may be entered. Not all occasions when this happens will be known however, and you should be aware of the equivalence of certain English names as translations of the Gaelic and be prepared to search for both. Consult the Gaelic-English Forenames page for help in relation to this. Names of individuals born in Scotland after 1900, and most of those born elsewhere, are entered as recorded at birth or in the form most frequently found in other records. But you should still be aware of the possibility of variations and search accordingly if you cannot find the person you are looking for under the name you expect.

Middle names and some nicknames

Nicknames are enclosed in quotation marks and are included with the given-name in the index (other nicknames may given in the fuller entries to be found for families with on-line genealogies - see Family below) but you should be aware of the fact that many people who later bore a middle name were not baptised with it; and of course nicknames were usually adopted or given in later life. The adoption of middle names was particularly prevalent amongst 19th century emigrants, and just as the single forename they were baptised with in the old world was "given" for an ancestor, so the middle name they took in the new world was usually that of a close relative - often their father or grandfather. If therefore you can't find the person you are looking for with the middle or nickname you know they bore, look for them without such additions; and similarly be aware of the possibility of your ancestor being recorded with such an additional name even though you are not aware of it.

Additional information

This column contains details (titles, occupations, places of residence, dates of emigration etc.) that may further help identify the individual in question.

Birth date

In theory only those dates not preceded by abt ("about") or est ("estimated") are proven by contemporary entries in registers (see the Project MAOL Submissions page for the distinction between abt and est). Even where a date is not so qualified however it should be treated with caution - especially if only the year is given - since many of these dates come from family histories submitted by clanspeople who may not have checked reported dates against official records. Bear in mind that before the mid-20th century (when bureaucrats insisted that we all know our dates of birth) few people - and especially older people - really knew exactly how old they were. So if you don't find your ancestor entered against the year of birth you expect then look for him/her up to ten years either side of the date you have.

Birth place

Again, before the 20th century people were not always sure where they were actually born, and places of birth given in censuses could well be the places where they grew up. Please note that abbreviations in this column do vary somewhat according to those favoured by our submitters. So both "Scot" and "SCT" are used for Scotland; "NI, "NIre" and "NIR" may appear for Northern Ireland; etc. etc. In most cases it should be obvious what is intended as we would alter anything that looks too obscure. Generally the format for the place of birth is Parish/Town/City, State/Province, Country, though farms, villages or counties may often appear in place of the parish, town or city.

Spouse

The surname of a wife should be her maiden name - which may of course have been the same as the husband's surname since intermarriage within a clan was common - but again this should be checked and not taken as read. The same rules often apply to the names of spouses as to the names - both forenames and surnames - of clanspeople (i.e. standardised English spellings), so you may need to look for versions other than the one you have on your records.

Father

The father's name is entered if known, and the same considerations apply as above (i.e. spelling, middle and nicknames etc). If a father's name is included then you can go on to search the index for him too - using the name of MOTHER/SPOUSE to differentiate the father from others bearing the same given name.

Mother

The mother's name is entered if known, and again the same considerations apply as above. Family If a three or four digit number is entered in this column it may be used on the M'millan or Septname Key pages to access a full genealogy for this family - if it has been put on-line (only a limited number of families have so far) - or it can be quoted in correspondence as a means of referencing full family trees and the names of their submitters held at the Clan MacMillan International Centre.

Above, MacMillan Dress 1874-2000 tartan. See more about Clan MacMillan tartan.

Please note that not all the information given in the search indices is guaranteed as accurate. Where we know there are doubts we have indicated as much with qualifiers (in addition to abt or est before dates, doubtful places or people are indicated with a ?). We cannot possibly check all the information we are sent, and we can easily make mistakes when entering these huge amounts of data; so you should always check original records or sources for yourselves when you get information from us (or indeed anyone else).

Information in on-line family trees or pedigrees that we send out should contain references for individuals or families that show either the historical or genealogical sources, or the names of the clanspeople who submitted the information (or, where submitters prefer not to have their details published, the Clan Centre should be able to put potential cousins in touch).

A list of sources and submissions can be found on the Project MAOL Sources page, which also serves as a useful bibliography for Clan MacMillan genealogical and historical research.