Clan Galbraith

Clan Galbraith
Crest: bear's head couped argent muzzled azure
Motto	AB OBICE SUAVIOR "Gentler Because of the Obstruction"
Profile
Region	Lowlands
District	Stirlingshire
Clan Galbraith has no chief, and is an armigerous clan
Historic seat	Culcreuch Castle
Last Chief	Galbraith of Culcreuch

Clan Galbraith is a Scottish clan. The clan does not have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because of this, the clan is considered an armigerous clan, and as such Clan Galbraith has no standing under Scots Law. The clan-name of Galbraith is of Gaelic origin, however its meaning denotes the bearer as of British origin, as opposed to Gaelic. The early Galbraiths were centred in the Lennox district, which spans the Highland and Lowland border of Scotland. The 17th chief of the clan brought ruin to the clan in the late 16th and early 17th century, and eventually lost his lands and fled Scotland for Ireland. His grandson, the 19th chief, was the last chief of Clan Galbraith.

The surname Galbraith is of Gaelic origin. The name is derived from the elements gall ("stranger") + Breathnach ("Briton"), meaning "British foreigner". The elements used in the surname would denote the differences between the Gaels—who have been generally thought to have begun migration to Scotland in about the 5th century—and the native Welsh speaking Britons, particularly those of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. The Strathclyde Britons remained a distinct ethnic group from both the Highland Gaels and Lowland Angles until the 14th century. The former capital of the Kingdom of Strathclyde was Dumbarton ("Fortress of the Britons"), in the Lennox.

In Scottish Gaelic the Galbraiths are called Breatanuich or Clann-a-Breatannuich, meaning "Britons" and "Children of the Britons". The early Galbraiths held lands in the Lennox, in the area of Loch Lomond, north of Dumbarton. The stronghold of these early Galbraiths was on the island of Inchgalbraith which is located on west side of Loch Lomond about 2 miles south-east of Luss. The heraldist Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk speculated that the Arms of the Galbraiths—which bore three bears' heads—may allude to the British name Arthur that is thought by some to mean "bear".