Clan Nicolson

Clan Story

The Nicolson Legacy

The Nicolson name is associated with two historically distinct Scottish clans, and sources do not agree on which one is properly 'Clan Nicolson.' A Highland clan long associated with the Trotternish peninsula of Skye -- recorded there since at least the early 16th century and traditionally one of the oldest Celtic families in the Hebrides -- held the lands of Scorrybreac near Portree until financial pressures forced their sale in 1825. In 1988 the Lord Lyon recognized this Highland line's chief under the surname MacNeacail. Separately, a Lowland Nicolson family, tracing to a 16th-century Edinburgh lawyer and possibly of Norse descent, was recognized with its own chief in the 1980s, though that chiefship is currently vacant. Because these are two separate lineages with different chiefs, mottos, and histories, this entry should be reviewed carefully before publishing to confirm which lineage the collection is meant to represent.

The clan's historic seat is associated with Scorrybreac, near Portree, Skye (Highland/MacNeacail line).