Clan MacQueen
Clann Shuibhne
MacQueen, also called Clan Revan, is a small clan with roots in Skye and the Western Isles and a long place in the Clan Chattan confederation around Strathdearn. No chief is currently confirmed.
History
The MacQueens are generally placed among the island peoples of the west who later settled on the mainland. The Clan Chattan Association describes them as a small offshoot of an old Skye clan, while Electric Scotland links them with Clan Donald and the Lords of the Isles. Their name is debated. Suggested roots include the Gaelic Suibhne, the Gaelic MacCuinn (son of Conn), and the Norse Sweyn.
The mainland branch is known as Clan Revan. Tradition makes its founder Roderick, or Revan, son of Mulmor, who is said to have obtained land in Inverness-shire about 1400. The Clan Chattan Association adds that Revan came with the party escorting Mora MacDonald of Moidart to her marriage into the Mackintosh chiefly line, and then settled at Corrybrough in Strathdearn, where the clan took his name. This is tradition and not documented record, and the retellings differ in detail.
The marriage tie brought the MacQueens into the Clan Chattan confederation under the Mackintosh captains. Electric Scotland says they marched with Mackintosh at Harlaw in 1411. On 4 April 1609 Donald Macqueen of Corrybrough joined the other Clan Chattan leaders in a bond of manrent pledging support to Angus Mackintosh as captain and leader. The same source says the MacQueens of that period numbered twelve landowning families in Inverness-shire and Nairnshire.
Memory of the Macdonald link lasted into the 1700s. Lord Macdonald of Sleat, raising a Highland regiment, gave a lieutenant's commission to a son of Donald Macqueen, and in his letter of 26 January 1778 wrote that the Macqueens had always been attached to his family and were believed to owe their origin to it.
Elsewhere, Electric Scotland records that MacQueens held Garafad in Skye for many generations, and notes heavy emigration from the islands across the Atlantic. The judge Robert Macqueen, Lord Braxfield, is a different matter, since the same page says his family came from Lanarkshire and not from Clan Revan or the Isles.
Leadership is unclear. Electric Scotland offers two conflicting accounts: one names a Queen's Counsel as present head, the other says the last known chief's line ended up in New Zealand. It calls the head Macqueen of Corrybrough. COSCA leaves its chief field blank, so we treat MacQueen as armigerous and name nobody.
Clan MacQueen 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.
Get the kilt
When you order a kilt, ask for the tartan by its full name — for example “MacQueen” — 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 MacQueen 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
- Corrybrough, Strathdearn. The Clan Chattan Association says Revan settled at Corrybrough, and Electric Scotland names the head of the clan as Macqueen of Corrybrough.
Surnames
The clan name and its spellings
- MacQueen
- MacQuien
- MacQuain
Names associated with Clan MacQueen
- Queen
- MacCunn
- MacSwan
- MacSween
- MacSwen
- MacSwyde
- MacSwain
- Swan
- Swain
- Sween
- Sweeney
- MacSweeney
- Queen: Listed by COSCA; also a surname with English origins.
- MacCunn: Listed by COSCA and the Clan Chattan Association.
- MacSwan: Listed by COSCA and the Clan Chattan Association.
- MacSween: Listed by COSCA and the Clan Chattan Association; also linked to other Highland families.
- MacSwen: Listed by COSCA and the Clan Chattan Association.
- MacSwyde: Listed by COSCA and the Clan Chattan Association.
- MacSwain: Listed by COSCA.
- Swan: Listed by COSCA and the Clan Chattan Association; a common surname with other origins.
- Swain: Listed by COSCA; the name has other origins too.
- Sween: Listed by COSCA.
- Sweeney: Listed by COSCA; the name is also Irish and linked to other families.
- MacSweeney: Listed by COSCA; also linked to Irish and other Scottish 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 MacQueen tartan?
The Scottish Register of Tartans lists a MacQueen clan sett of black, red and yellow, dated 1842. The Register links it to Clan Revan and notes that its first published source is unreliable.
What is the MacQueen motto?
The motto given by the Council of Scottish Clans and Associations is 'Constant and faithful'.
Which surnames are linked to Clan MacQueen?
COSCA lists forms such as MacQuain, MacQuien and Queen, along with names like MacCunn, MacSwan, MacSween, Swan and Sweeney. Several of these are shared with other families, so they are linked rather than certain.
Where do the MacQueens come from?
They are traced to Skye and the Western Isles, with a mainland branch at Corrybrough in Strathdearn. That branch became part of the Clan Chattan confederation under the Mackintoshes.
Sources
- MacQueen — COSCA - Council of Scottish Clans & Associations
- Clan MacQueen — Clan Chattan Association
- MacQueen (clan history) — Electric Scotland
- Macqueen (The Scottish Nation) — Electric Scotland
- MacQueen (ref. 2736) — 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 1 November 2026.