Scottish Clan Book - MacEwan

Along with other clans that include the Lamonts and the MacLachlans, the shores of Loch Fyne were from earliest times the abode of the MacEwans.

The Gaelic form of the name is MacEoghain, meaning ‘born of the yew tree’, while ‘Ewan’ or ‘Ewen’ can also indicate ‘young warrior’ – and these ‘young warriors’ may well have been from the tribe known as the Scotti who settled in what is now modern day Scotland after making the short journey across the sea from Ireland.

‘Otter’ was the name of the MacEwan lands on Loch Fyne and also part of the designation of their chiefs - with their first chief, MacEwen 1 of Otter recorded as having lived around 1200, while Gillespie V of Otter is recorded as chief a year after the battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

With a legacy of both fortune and misfortune, the colourful tale of the MacEwans is chronicled here.