,
romanticised depiction of a member of the clan by
R. R. McIan, from
The Clans of the Scottish Highlands, published in 1845.
Myth and legend near
Kyleakin. According to legend, the castle of Dunakin (today known as
Caisteal Maol), near
Kyleakin, was built by a
Norwegian princess known as Saucy Mary, who married
Findanus the claimed ancestor of Clan Mackinnon.
Origin of the name The
surname MacKinnon is an
Anglicisation of the
Gaelic Mac Fhionghuin, which is a
patronymic form of the Gaelic
personal name meaning "fair born" or "fair son".
Middle Irish forms of the name are
Finghin and
Finnguine, while the
Modern Irish is
Findgaine. In consequence some "Mackinvens" have Anglicised their name to
Love or
Low (however most Love or Low surnames are not derived this way, having no connection with the MacKinnons).
Wars of Scottish Independence According to the
Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia the Mackinnons gave shelter to
Robert the Bruce when he was a
fugitive escaping to
Carrick. After Bruce's victory at the
Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 the Mackinnons were rewarded with land on the
Isle of Skye. According to the historian
Donald Gregory the first authentic record of the clan is found in an indenture between
John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and the
Lord of Lorn, in 1354. Sometime after the death of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, in 1386,
John Mór (younger son of John of Islay) rebelled against his elder brother
Domhnall, in an attempt to take the Lordship of the Isles for himself. The earliest record of the Mackinnons is of
Lachlan Makfingane, who witnessed a charter by
Donald de Ile, dominus Insularum, to
Hector Macgilleone, dominus de Doward, on 1 November 1409. The chief's
crest is a
boar's head erased, argent, holding in its mouth a deer's shankbone,
proper. A Mackinnon legend that is supposed to explain the chief's crest is of a Mackinnon who was hunting on the shores of
Loch Scavaig in Skye. After becoming separated from his hunting party the Mackinnon spent the night in a cave for shelter. While preparing some venison which he was about to cook over an open fire he was attacked by a wild boar which charged into the cave. Mackinnon then drove the butchered deer's leg into the mouth of the boar, jamming it open, before killing the wild animal.
Abbacy of Iona The early clan seems to have had a close connection with the abbacy on the small
Inner Hebridean island of
Iona. The abbacy of Iona was first founded in 563 by Saint Columba, and many following abbots were selected from his kindred (
Cenel Conaill: descendants of
Conall Gulban, who was Columba's great-grandfather and the founder of
Tír Conaill). which is inscribed: "Hec Fingone: et: eivs: filii: Johannis: X: abbatis de Hy: facta: anno: Domini: måccccålxxxåixå". In 1545, Ewen, the chief of the clan, was one of the barons and council of the Isles who swore allegiance to the King of England, at Knockfergus in Ireland.
Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles, in his
A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides, in 1549, described the Mackinnon controlled lands at that time. On Skye were the lands of "Straytsnardill" (
Strathairdle, of which later Mackinnon chiefs were designated), and "the castill of
Dunnakyne perteining to Mackynnoun; the castill
Dunringill, perteining to the said Mackynnoun". In 1579,
Fynnoun MacKynnoun of Strathardill, and his son
Lachlane Oig, were reported to
James VI, along with Maclaine of Lochbuie and the MacLeans, by John,
Bishop of the Isles. The Bishop of the Isles complained to the Scots king that these men were preventing him from receiving the rents of his
See. On 12 July 1606
Lauchlan Mackinnon of Strathairdle and Finlay Macnab of Bowaine, entered into a Bond of Friendship and
Manrent. An indication of the relative extent of the estates of the three great chiefs of Skye at the end of the 17th century is afforded by the amount of rental for each: £7,000 for Macleod, £6,200 for Macdonald and £2,400 for Mackinnon (at a time when 12
Scottish pounds were approximately equivalent to one English pound sterling).
Civil War During the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms the Mackinnons followed the
Marquess of Montrose, and took part in the
Battle of Inverlochy on 2 February 1645.
Jacobite uprisings Although considered a relatively minor clan, it seems to have been of considerable strength. "Mackinnons – The Laird of Mackinnon is their Chief, who in Irish is called Mackenoin holds his Lands of the Crown both in the Isles of Skye and Mull and Can raise 200 Men." Following the defeat of the
Jacobites at the
Battle of Culloden, Charles Edward Stuart fled to the west coast of Scotland in order to flee to France. Tradition has the Mackinnons aiding the prince, with the chief concealing him in a cave, and the chief's wife bringing the prince refreshments of cold meat and wine. but proved ultimately fruitless. The thirty-fifth chief of the clan was
Francis Alexander Mackinnon. Today the current chief is Madam Anne Gunhild Mackinnon of Mackinnon, 38th Chief of the Name and Arms of Mackinnon, recognized by the Lord Lyon. She has two sons who are eligible upon her death to become chief under the blood line and providing they retain the MacKinnon name. In 2015 Madame Anne MacKinnon appointed Stephen MacKinnon of Massachusetts, U.S.A. as her representative of the Chief and is recognized as such by the Clan MacKinnon Society. She also appointed Stephen MacKinnon Chieftain of Mishnish. ==Chief==