Clan Henderson Tartan

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Surname origin

The surname originated in Scotland, meaning son of Hendry (a Scottish form of Henry). Due to its origin it emerged in multiple places for unrelated families.^[1] The 1841 census showed Hendersons living throughout Scotland but concentrated in Lanarkshire (10%), Midlothian (10%), Fife (8%), Aberdeenshire (8%) and Caithness (5%).^[2]

The use of hereditary surnames in Scotland dates back to 1061, when King Malcolm Canmore "directed his chief subjects, after the custom of other nations, to adopt surnames from their territorial possessions".^[3]

The main family in Fife is the Hendersons of Fordell, who are believed to descend from the Henryson family of Dumfriesshire.^[4]

The Caithness Hendersons are descended from Henry Gunn, a younger son of George Gunn, chief of Clan Gunn in the 1400s.^[4]

The Hendersons of Glencoe anglicised their name from MacEanruig and claim descent from Henry, son of Nechtan, King of the Picts.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Henderson, House of Names
2. ↑ Henderson name origin, ancestry.com
3. ↑ The surnames of Scotland, their origin meaning and history, Black, George Fraser
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Henderson, The surnames of Scotland, their origin meaning and history, Black, George Fraser