What does it truly mean for a surname to belong to Clan Mackenzie? How many of the names traditionally identified as clan septs have a documented historical connection and how many are simply variations of other surnames?
These are among the questions examined in Clan MacKenzie: Septs, Related Names, and Branches, a significant new work published in 2025 by Graeme Mackenzie, Clan Mackenzie Seanchaidh.
In this work, Graeme examines the origins of the surnames associated with Clan Mackenzie, challenging assumptions that have been repeated in clan publications and sept lists for generations.
This book also explores related surnames, previously overlooked connections and branches of the Mackenzie family, including research into the Mackenzies of Dalmore and the clan’s wider genealogical origins.
For Graeme Mackenzie, this is an “interim report” on an ongoing research project as discoveries continue to refine our understanding of this topic.
For anyone interested in Mackenzie ancestry, clan history or the historical meaning of septs, this booklet offers a great opportunity to distinguish documented history from inherited tradition. Something we love at the Initiative.
Understanding our past requires more than preserving familiar names and stories. It requires a willingness to examine the evidence behind them.
You can order your copy here.
