Until recently, any published history of the Clan Grant has stated with categorical certainty that the Grant's were of "Norman" origin, the name Grant being said to be a corruption of "Le Grand". However, this origin was only first proposed in the 18th century and became fixed as the standard account by Sir William Fraser in his three volume history "The Chiefs of Grant". But Fraser used the same, very thin, circumstantial evidence used by earlier proponents of this theory, mostly relying on the fact that there seemed to be a connection between the Grant and Bisset families in England (suggesting the Bissets brought the Grants back to Scotland with them after their temporary exile in England in the late 13th century). What is not said, however, is that the Clan Grant itself has never had any such tradition. It is highly unlikely such a heritage would be lost by, or unknown to, the Bards who were tasked with memorizing the stories and history of the Clan.

Within the last few years, researchers in the U.K. began to reinvestigate the origins of the Clan Grant and began to uncover evidence that challenged the old and deeply ingrained "Norman" account. A re-examination of the connection between the Grant's and Bisset's in England found that Fraser simply got his dates wrong and his account falls apart. Thus, the connection between the Grant's and Scotland is of a far earlier date than assumed before, proving the establishment of the name in the north before it appears in any documents in the south.

Surname distribution studies, which use statistical data gathered from early census information, also back this up, showing the name Grant to be of a higher concentration in the regions encompassing most of Strathspey in Scotland than anywhere else in the U.K. The name appears in no significant concentration anywhere in England, which makes it a statistical improbability that the name originated in England, or that any separate, distinct, family somehow took the name in England (meaning some family assumed the name in England simply as a nickname, a corruption of "Le Grand" - large or tall - and the connection with the family of the same name in Scotland being a mere coincidence. However, there is no evidence that a surname of "Grand" or "Le Grand" ever mutated, was corrupted, or modified to "Grant"). Surname distribution studies show this to be highly unlikely, if not impossible, giving further evidence of the origin of the surname in the region around Inverness (encompassing part of Strathspey) in Scotland.

Two early manuscript histories of the Clan Grant (Monymusk Text and Cromdale Text) were also discovered (not so much discovered as they were rediscovered) that told a history far different from Fraser's account. The Clan Grant had long had an oral tradition that the origins of the Grants were in Norway - the progenitor of the family being the Viking leader Haakon the Great who was Earl (Jarl) of Lade (Hladir) in Trondheim, Norway. Haakon's lineage is said to derive from the possibly mythical figure "Wodine", who the Saxons held in account as their progenitor and who the Icelandic Sagas say was a "Prince out of Asia" that settled in Norway with his followers, founding a great city...the later Kings of East Anglia, from whom Haakon descended, were said to be of Wodine's line. The Swedes have long believed that their origins lay with the descendants of the Trojans, who fled to Central Asia after the Trojan War, creating a stronghold called Asgard from which a leader named Wodine later emerged, ultimately leading an exodus of warriors across the Russian steppes to Sweden, and eventually being given lands in Norway in which to settle (exactly as the early Clan manuscripts state, and also in keeping with the Icelandic Sagas). For more on this origin legend in Sweden click here.

Further, there is also a tradition within the Clan Grant, one confirmed in the rediscovered histories, that in the early 14th century the original Norse line of the Chiefs of Grant failed (though the lines of some of the younger sons of these early chiefs survived, some supposedly ending up in England, Ireland and France) resulting in the Grant heiress Maud being married to an Andrew Stewart. According to tradition, Andrew Stewart (who may have been illegitamit son of James Stewart) was allowed to marry the heiress under the conditions that he assume the surname of Grant and that he agree to maintain his residence in Strathspey. Early indications within our DNA testing point to the truth behind this, as well as the Norse origin legend.

The Norman account will probably not disappear anytime soon, but the evidence presented on this site will hopefully bring about a change in the understanding of the true origins of Clan Grant. More details on this rediscovered history can be read at the Clan Grant History Site run by Adrian Grant of Fife, U.K.

Were the early Grant Chiefs of Norse Viking origin? Was the original male line of the Grant's supplanted by a new line stemming from the Stewarts? The answer to both these questions seems to be "yes", and it is our hope that through this DNA research we will uncover the truth behind these traditions and legends within the Clan. We have already made interesting and startling discoveries toward this end...

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