Clan Buchanan - Subsequent Claims To The Chiefship

Subsequent Claims To The Chiefship

Before addressing the two claims to chiefship it is necessary to establish how the office and title of chief is passed to succeeding generations in Scotland.

Patrilineal Descent. Firstly, the office and title is passed patrilineally (from father to child) in descending order of male birth then descending order of female birth, hence the oldest surviving son is the heir presumptive. If the heir presumptive produces no heirs, then on the heir presumptive’s death the office and title goes to the next younger son, etc., then eldest daughter, etc. The term ‘cadet’ is used to describe family groups which are descendants of younger sons, thus the oldest surviving son of each generation maintains the main or principal family line, and younger sons establish cadet lines. In the case of the chiefly line of Buchanan, the first recognised cadet was Buchanan of Auchneiven and the last was Buchanan of Auchmar. Cadets can have their own cadets, e.g. Buchanans of Drumpellier, Auchintorlie, Craigend and Hillington are cadets of Buchanan of Leny through Gartacharne. When chiefly line is extinguished, the most recent cadet line to branch off the chiefly line becomes the new chiefly line.

Maintenance of Surname. Secondly the office and title is implicitly linked to the surname, thus a McKay, a Cairns, etc. cannot be chief of Clan Buchanan. In some cases, where the heir is a daughter, arrangements have been made so that her husband and children assume her surname, and thus the office and title can be passed to her offspring. This practice has given rise to the use of compound (hyphenated or ‘double-barrelled’) names. The matter of principal names was established by the Lord Lyon Innes of Learney when in the case of Monro-Lucas-Tooth that he was a Tooth rather than a Monro or Lucas. It is now clearly established that it is the last name which decides the matter. Thus by the Court of the Lord Lyon (the heraldry court of Scotland), a Moodie-Buchanan is consider a Buchanan but a Buchanan-Moodie is considered a Moodie. Further, in the case of a chief as the representer of the family, the surname cannot be a compound surname.