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The Gunn Clan


My Gunn Clan Banner


Gunn Coat of Arms


Clan Name: Gunn

Origin of Name: from the Norse "Gunni


Motto: In Omni Modo Fidelis(Loyal in Every Way)


Battle Cry: Usque Ad Finem(Until the End)


Crest Badge: A dexter hand holding a sword in bend all proper.


Plant Badge: Juniper

Septs: Allisterson, Anderson, Bain, Corner, Crownar, Crowner, Cruner, Davidson, Eanrig, Enrick, Galdie, Gallie, Ganson, Gauldie, Gaunson, George, Georgeson, Henderson, Inrig, Jameson, Jamieson, Johnson, Kean, Keene, MacAllister, MacChruner, MacComas, MacCorkill, MacCorkle, MacCullie, MacDade, MacDhaidh, MacEnrck, MacGeorge, MacHamish, MacIan, MacKames, MacKeamis, MacKameish, MacKean, MacKendrick, MacMains, MacManus, MacNeill, MacOmish, MacRob, MacRory, MacSheoras, MacWilliam, Magnus, Magnusson, Main, Mann, Manson, Manus, More, Neilson, Nelson, Robertson, Robinson, Robison, Robson, Rorieson, Sandison, Swan, Swanney, Thomson, Tomson, Will, Williamson, Wills, Wilson, Wylie, Wyllie


Gunn Badge Gunn Tartan



















unn's ancestral tree is mixed with the earliest known inhabitants of the area, the Picts. Later the Celts, Scots Teutons, Normans, Norse and others integrated to extend the ancestral tree. Clan Gunn traces it's beginning to King Olaf the Black of Norway. The surname Gunn derives from Gun, Gunnar, or Gunni who was a grandson of Sweyn the Pirate of Freswick whose family ruled the earldoms of Orkney and Caithness during the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries.

Little is known about the Clan until the 15th century when history records the exploits of the Clan Gunn and its chiefs. However, during the 14th and 15th centuries the Gunns were gradually dispossessed of their lands in the fertile parts of Caithness by the Sinclairs, Keiths and others, who obtained grants of land from the Scottish kings.

Consequently by the mid 15th century, George Gunn of Ulbster, Chief of Clan Gunn and Crowner of Caithness, held his main lands atUlbster and Clyth on the rocky coast of Caithness. The majority of the Clan by then occupied the highland regions of Caithness in what are now the Parishes of Latheron, Halkirk and Reay.

It was George Gunn, the Crowner, who after many skirmishes with the Clan Keith over rival land claims, sought to reach a conciliation with the Keiths at St. Tayre's Chapel, near Ackergill Tower. He was killed in the unequal battle at the chapel where the Keiths arrived for the twelve-aside parlay with two men to each horse. In 1978 the Earl of Kintore, Chief of Clan Keith and Iain Gunn of Banniskirk, the Commander of Clan Gunn, signed a Treaty of Friendship between the two clans at the site of the chapel, bringing to end the 500 year old feud.

After the death of George, the Crowner, and his sons at Ackergill, the Clan split into three distinct families. James or Seumas, the Crowner's eldest son who survived the battle, moved with his family to Kildonan in Sutherland, where he obtained lands from the Earls of Sutherland. Robert, the second surviving son established his line in Braemore, in the southern heights of Caithness as the Robson Gunns. John, the third surviving son settled in Cattaig or Bregual in Strathmore, in the higher reaches of the River Thurso above Westerdale.

The Hendersons and Williamsons and Wilsons of Caithness are said to be descended from Henry and William, two of the Crowner's younger sons. The various chieftains leased their lands from the Chiefs of Clan Sutherland and Clan Mackay and in turn sublet these to their immediate families who subdivided them among their families. There was, however, a surprising amount of movement from one part of the country to another and so it cannot be assumed that all Gunns in one area were necessarily all of the same branch of the family.

Many clansmen do not bear the surname of Gunn. Surnames were not commonly used until comparatively recent times, since they were of little use where everyone was of the same clan. A man or woman was known as John or Jean mac Suemais or mac Dhaidh, the son or daughter of James or David, of Clan Gunn. When surnames came to be used, many adopted their father's name and were then known as John or Jean Robson, Georgeson, Williamson, etc.

The chiefship of the Clan has been dormant since the death of the son of George Gunn of Rhives in 1874. The head of the Clan, in the absence of a recognized chief, is Iain Gunn of Banniskirk. He was appointed Commander of the Clan by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, at the request of the landed members of the Clan.

The first Clan Gunn Society which was founded in 1821, was formed to promote a spirit of kinship among members of the clan throughout the world. They acquired the Old Parish Church at Latheron as a Clan Heritage Center and gather in Caithness every three years. In 1969, the Clan Gunn Society was organized in the United States with membership open to all Gunns residing in North America. In 1979 the Clan Gunn Society of Canada was organized.


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