A sept is a division of a family, especially of a
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
or
Irish family. The term is used in both
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person (for example, ''Sliocht Bhriain Mhic Dhiarmada'', "the descendant of Brian MacDermott"). The word may derive from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
''saeptum'', meaning "enclosure" or "fold", or via an alteration of "sect".
Family branches
''Síol'' is a Gaelic word meaning "progeny" or "seed" that is used in the context of a family or clan with members who bear the same surname and inhabited the same territory,
["Septs of Ireland"](_blank)
Irish Septs Association. as a manner of distinguishing one group from another; a family called ''Mac an Bháird'' (
anglicised
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
as "Ward") might be divided into septs such as ''Síol Sheáin Mhic Bhriain'', ''Síol Chonchobhair Óig'', ''Síol Sheáin Chuinn'', or ''Síol Chon Chonnacht''.
Each of these individual septs may further subdivide into more septs, which may sometimes lead to the development of novel surnames and/or the rise of the family such that it may be considered a clan in its own right. Such septs were common in Scotland, where the clan system was well-developed.
Scotland
In the context of
Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognis ...
s, septs are families that followed another family's chief, or part of the extended family and that hold a different surname. These smaller septs would then be part of the chief's larger clan. A sept might follow another chief if two families were linked through marriage, or, if a family lived on the land of a powerful
laird
Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in a ...
, they would follow him whether they were related or not.
Bonds of manrent were sometimes used to bind lesser chiefs and his followers to more powerful chiefs. According to the ''Oxford Companion to Scottish History'', the
MacMartins of Letterfinlay who were a sept of the
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Ch ...
would have seen themselves as distinct within their own lands, but would have also seen themselves as Camerons if operating elsewhere outside Lochaber.
Bonds of manrent and friendship tied obviously non-related kin groups into a wider military, political, and land/food resource sharing clanship.
Today, sept lists are used by clan societies to recruit new members. Such lists date back to the 19th century, when clan societies and
tartan
Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...
manufacturers attempted to capitalise on the enthusiasm and interest for all things Scottish. Lists were drawn up that linked as many surnames as possible to a particular clan, regardless of whether there was an actual historical connection to that clan surname. In this way, individuals without a "clan name" could connect to a Scottish clan and thus feel "entitled" to its tartan.
Also,
common surnames
Lists of most common surnames by region:
* List of most common surnames in Asia
* List of most common surnames in Europe
* List of most common surnames in North America
* List of most common surnames in Oceania (Australia, New Zealand)
* List of mo ...
, found throughout the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...
, were linked to particular clans. For example, the surname ''
Miller
A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...
''/''
Millar'' was made a sept of
Clan MacFarlane, and ''
Taylor'' of
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Ch ...
. Furthermore,
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, al ...
forms of common
personal names
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...
were also linked to particular clans.
This has led to the false impression that many surnames have one origin and are all related to one another, and that such surnames are historically connected to one particular clan.
Ireland
Historically, the term "sept" was not used in Ireland until the 19th century, long after any notion of clanship had been eradicated. The English word "sept" is most accurate in referring to a subgroup within a large clan, particularly when that group has taken up residence outside their clan's original territory (e.g. the
O'Neills,
MacSweeneys, and
O'Connors).
Related
Irish clans often belong to larger groups, dynasties, such as the
Dál gCais,
Uí Néill,
Uí Fiachrach, and
Uí Maine.
Recently,
Edward MacLysaght
Edgeworth Lysaght, later Edward Anthony Edgeworth Lysaght, and from 1920 Edward MacLysaght ( ga, Éamonn Mac Giolla Iasachta; 6 November 1887 – 4 March 1986) was a genealogist of twentieth century Ireland. His numerous books on Irish surnames ...
suggested the English word "sept" be used in place of the word 'clan' with regard to the historical social structure in Ireland, to differentiate it from the centralised Scottish clan system. This would imply that Ireland possessed no formalised clan system, which is not wholly accurate.
Brehon Law, the ancient legal system of Ireland clearly defined the clan system in pre-Norman Ireland, with its electoral system limited to the senior sept's members (see
derbfine
The derbfine ( ; ga, dearbhfhine , from ''derb'' 'real' + ''fine'' 'group of persons of the same family or kindred', thus literally 'true kin'electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language s.vderbḟine/ref>) was a term for patrilineal groups and po ...
), which collapsed after the
Tudor Conquest in the 16th century. The Irish, when speaking of themselves, employed their term "clann", which means "children"
in
Irish.
See also
*
Dit name
*
Irish genealogy
*
Mac Amhlaoibh and Mac Amhalghaidh (Irish septs)
*
Sippe
References
Further reading
Septs of Clan Mcfarlane, with reasons for septs
External links
*
{{Scottish clans
Scottish society
Society of Ireland