Shaw

Gaelic: Mac Ghille Sheathanaich

Motto: Fide et fortitudine
“By fidelity and fortitude”

Badge: Red whortleberry

Lands: Strathspey

Name Origin: Gaelic, Seaghdha (Pithful)

Famous Shaws:
George Bernard Shaw – Playwright (Pygmalion)
Robert Shaw – Actor (Jaws)
Vinessa Shaw – Actress (The Hills Have Eyes, Eyes Wide Shut)

There are two origins for this name - one in the Highlands and another in the Lowlands. The Old English word "sceaga" (meaning a small wood or thicket) gave rise to the Shaw name in the Lowlands, particularly in Lanarkshire. There were three landowners from there who were forced (along with thousands of others) to sign the "Ragman Roll" in 1296, swearing loyalty to King Edward I of England. The name spread across southern Scotland and into Northern England and also Ireland. In the Highlands, the name came from the Gaelic "sithech" meaning "wolf" and was initially used as a first name but became a surname early in the 13th century. Shaw Macduff, a younger son of Duncan, Thane of Fife (a descendant of Kenneth mac Alpin) assisted King Malcolm IV in putting down a rebellion in Moray and he was made keeper of Inverness castle.
The Shaws and their Mackintosh allies supported Robert the Bruce against the Comyns (Cummings) and took part in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Today the clan Shaw is recognized as a line of unbroken continuity to the ancient earls of Fife. Shaw was the 85th most frequent surname at the General Register Office in 1995

 

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