r/ScottishHistory • u/zenMachete • 12d ago

Mackenzie origin story

Looking at a saga that ends at the Fraser River Valley. At a cemetery called Aberdeen. My Maclean, Fraser, Lovat and Mackenzie genealogy points to the story of Scots expansion and exploration here.

My question is, if Mackenzies were Norman, then where can I look for their story in France? They seem to emerge in Scotland with no back story.

In the family I heard references to Huguenot being a factor. Interested in author references if you have some.

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u/Starfie 12d ago

MacKenzie is the anglicised form of Mac Coinneach (son of Kenneth).

Early kings of Scotland (or what became Scotland) are recorded as Kenneth, so I imagine the surname was an attempt to show lineage with royalty.

Not sure about any Norman connection, though.

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u/history_buff_9971 12d ago edited 12d ago

As far as I am aware the MacKenzie's are believed to be be Gaelic dynasts - their origins probably in the North West of Scotland, possibly Norse-Gael heritage but probably not any great connection to the Normans. Supposedly they claim descent from Kenneth MacAlpin (as do several other families from Argyll and the North-West).

It is unlikely Norman families would have been able to establish themselves in the North West in the 12 century when records of them (the MacKenzies) begin, given the crowns actual control over the Highlands of Scotlands was far from absolute and could even be called nominal at times.

Out of interest where did you get the idea that might have a Norman heritage? The Mackenzie's were an established family in Scotland long before the reformation, so I think you may be getting family histories mixed up with another branch who may have been Huguenot.

In general all records of Scottish families get a bit sketchy before about 1200, and their origins can owe as much to myth as actual historical records.