Article
Taylor
Motto: In Cruce Salus (Salvation from the cross)
The origin of this surname is generally regarded as deriving from the occupation of ‘tailor’, a cutter out of cloth from the Old French ‘Tailleur’ the cutter. In later documents the name is rendered ‘cissor’. This surname is found to be very common in early Scots records. In 1276 one Alexander le Tayllur was valet to Alexander III and Brice le Taillur was one of the Scottish prisoners taken at the capture of Dunbar Castle in 1296. This sept claim to be descendants of a Clan Cameron warrior named ‘Taillear dubh na Tuaighe’ (Black Taylor of the Axe) who lived in the 17th century.
The progenitor of this sept was the illegitimate son of Ewan Cameron the 14th of Lochiel, by the daughter of the Chief of the MacDougals. Lochiel acknowledged the paternity of the child and had the boy brought up by a tailor’s wife at Lundavra. The boy became a famous warrior, so skilled in the wielding of the Lochaber axe that he became known as An Taillear na Tuaighe. After many daring exploits and dangerous raids, Taillear Dubh is said to have travelled to Cowal and settled in Strathencraig. His descendants took the name Macintaillear (Mac being ‘son of’), later changed to Taylor and thus many of the name Taylor are really Camerons. They are known as Clann an Taillear Dhuibh Chamronaich and there seems little doubt that Taylors descended from Cowal families of Taylor can claim descent from Donald MacEwan Bhig. The Taylor tartan is a modern tartan dating from 1955.
Choose from one of the Taylor tartans listed below:
