Clan MacPhail
MacPhail, from the Gaelic for son of Paul, is a Highland name tied to Lochaber and to Inverarnie in Strathnairn. Its chiefly line was part of the Clan Chattan confederation and is said to have ended in 1904.
History
MacPhail is a Gaelic patronymic meaning son of Paul. The name is recorded in the Highlands from the fifteenth century, and the people who bore it were not all of one family. The clan society describes four branches, linked with Clan Chattan, Clan Cameron, Clan Mackay and Argyll.
The best documented branch is the one attached to Clan Chattan, a confederation of families that is said to have begun in Lochaber. Tradition holds that the MacPhail ancestors moved east to Strathnairn when the Mackintosh chief married the Clan Chattan heiress. Joseph Broom, quoted by Electric Scotland, dates the move to the early fourteenth. The sources differ, and the evidence for that early period is thin.
Written records are firmer than the traditions: the name is first recorded in 1414. Electric Scotland says that in 1500 the clan took the protection of Clan Chattan, a claim that rests on a later account by a Mackintosh chief.
By the sixteenth century the family was linked with Inverarnie on the Water of Nairn. The clan society says they held it from 1631, on a long lease from Rose of Kilravock. They married into other Clan Chattan houses, among them the Shaws of Tordarroch. Several MacPhails served as officers in the Clan Chattan regiment in the Jacobite rising of 1715. Electric Scotland reports that the heir to the chiefship was transported after Preston and died at sea on the way to Virginia.
Inverarnie was lost in the early 1770s (the clan society gives 1773), and the family's hold on the area weakened. After that the family scattered. Some went south within Scotland, and others emigrated, mainly to Australia, Canada and the United States. COSCA says Paul MacPhail, the last of the old chiefly line, died in Australia in 1904, though the clan society's own site gives 1906. The chiefship is vacant. COSCA reported in 2022 that the society had begun a process, supervised by the Lord Lyon, to choose a Clan Commander; we have found no confirmed result.
The name has travelled well. Two Macphails became well known in Canada. Agnes Macphail was the first woman to sit in its parliament, and Sir Andrew Macphail worked as a physician and writer. Today the clan is kept together by its society, and by its place among the member clans of Clan Chattan.
Clan MacPhail tartans
Names and reference numbers follow the Scottish Register of Tartans. Mills sell most setts in modern, ancient and weathered colourways. The pattern is the same; only the shades change.
MacPhailClan tartan · Register ref. 2695The Register takes this sett from a sample in the MacGregor-Hastie collection, the basis of the Scottish Tartans Society's cloth archive. The sample was unmarked, and the Register suggests it dates from between 1930 and 1950.
MacPhail (Blue Bands)Clan tartan · Register ref. 2696The Register notes that the Scottish Tartans Society index and other files show black bands on the red, not the blue shown here, which was woven by Ingles Buchan. It also says MacPhail means son of Paul.
MacPhail Hunting #2Hunting tartan · Register ref. 2698The Register finds this sett in Clan Originaux (1880) as 'Macphail'. It adds that Johnstons of Elgin said in 2006 that a modern hunting version made for Gordon and MacPhail is simply the usual MacPhail in slightly different shades.
MacPhail HuntingHunting tartan · Register ref. 2697The Register takes this sett from an unmarked sample in the MacGregor-Hastie collection and suggests it dates from between 1930 and 1950. It gives no firm date for the sett.
Get the kilt
When you order a kilt, ask for the tartan by its full name — for example “MacPhail” — and say which colourway you want. “Modern” is dark and strong, “ancient” is lighter, “weathered” is muted. The sett is the same in each.
We are choosing retailers we trust and will list them here soon.
Wear the colours
Our own MacPhail range is on its way: the name, the tartan and the motto on a heavyweight tee, a hoodie and a mug. About the shop.
Lands and seats
- Inverarnie. Land on the Water of Nairn linked with the chiefly line from the sixteenth century until it passed out of their hands in the early 1770s.
Surnames
The clan name and its spellings
- MacPhail
- MacPheal
- MacPhaile
- MacPhayll
Names associated with Clan MacPhail
- McFall
- MacFall
- McFaul
- McFell
- McFall: Listed by COSCA. Also found in other families.
- MacFall: Listed by COSCA. Also found in other families.
- McFaul: Listed by COSCA. Also found in other families.
- McFell: Listed by COSCA. Also found in other families.
“Associated” means the name appears in published sept lists for this clan. It does not prove descent, and many names are linked to more than one clan. Where your family lived is often the better clue.
Questions people ask
What is the MacPhail tartan?
The Scottish Register of Tartans lists several MacPhail setts. The plain MacPhail sett, ref. 2695, comes from a sample the Register dates to between 1930 and 1950. It also lists a Blue Bands version and two hunting setts.
What is the MacPhail clan motto?
COSCA gives the motto as 'Memor Esto', Latin for 'be mindful'.
Which surnames are linked to Clan MacPhail?
COSCA lists MacPheal, MacPhaile and MacPhayll as spellings of the name, and McFall, MacFall, McFaul and McFell as linked names. We treat the last four as associated, and they are also found in other families.
Where is Clan MacPhail from?
The chiefly line is traced to Lochaber and then to Inverarnie, on the Water of Nairn in Strathnairn. Other branches are recorded in Argyll and Sutherland.
Sources
- MacPhail — COSCA - Council of Scottish Clans & Associations
- Macphail — Electric Scotland
- Clan MacPhail — Clan MacPhail society (clanmacphail.org)
- MacPhail (ref. 2695) — Scottish Register of Tartans
- MacPhail (Blue Bands) (ref. 2696) — Scottish Register of Tartans
- MacPhail Hunting #2 (ref. 2698) — Scottish Register of Tartans
- MacPhail Hunting (ref. 2697) — Scottish Register of Tartans
Clan histories are contested and sources disagree. If you can correct something here with a source, write to hello@tartanflag.com. Last updated 8 November 2026.