There are two types of septs, the first is clansmen of the clan who were related by blood and formed separate divisions and the second where individuals and groups who looked for and got the protection of the clan. This resulted in persons of the same surname being attached to different clans, therefore a clan had septs of various names.

The clan that a sept belongs to can wear the tartan of the clan although some of the septs now have tartans of their own and are indicated on the Clan pages.