Baird

Gaelic Name: Mac a’bhaird

Clan Crest: A gryphon’s head erased, Proper

Clan Motto: Dominus Fecit (The Lord made)

Origin of Name: Place name, Lanarkshire

Lands: Auchmeddan, Aberdeenshire

Clan Chief: None, armigerous clan

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Clan Baird History

The mythological motif of saving the King through a feat of strength, which appears in the histories of other clans such as Baird and Turnbull, is also at the root of the Baird clan. According to legend, the first Baird saved William the Lion from a wild boar, and the killing of a wild boar is also related to the origin of Clan Campbell.

In the thirteenth century, the Baird name appears to reflect the geographical location of lands held by the family in Lanarkshire near the village of Biggar. Early in the fourteenth century, King Robert the Bruce bestowed upon Richard Baird the lands of Meikle and Little Kyp, both in Lanarkshire.

The Kyp branch of the family is said to have produced Fergus Debard, John Bard, and Robert Bard, who swore allegiance to Edward I of England. However, as the family grew, the main Baird family came to occupy lands in Auchmedden, Aberdeenshire.

Marriage to the Keith family, Earls Marischal of Scotland, increased their influence in the country.

Thomas the Rhymer had made an ancient prophecy that would come true for the Bairds of Auchmedden: "there shall be an eagle in the craig while there is an Auchmedden Baird." According to local legend, when the estates of Auchmedden passed into the hands of the Earls of Aberdeen, a pair of eagles that had regularly nested on the crags near Auchmedden left the area.

The eagles returned with the marriage of a younger daughter of William Baird of Newbyth to Lord Haddow, the eldest son of the Earl of Aberdeen. As the estate passed to another branch of the Gordon family, the prophecy continued to be fulfilled.

THE CREST OF THE BAIRD CLAN MYSTERY

Baird is perplexing.

The wild boar appears on the arms and crests of several Baird families in Scotland. However, there is a bit of a mystery here, as there is no record of a Baird coat of arms containing a boar until over 450 years after the event. When the armorial rolls were established in 1330, there were no Bairds listed. Later in the 1670s, the Bairds of Auchmedden registered their arms.

Sir James Baird of Auchmedden, 1620-1691, had duly registered those Arms under the Act of 1672. Those Arms would have been passed down to his great-grandson William Baird of Auchmedden, who lived from 1701 to 1775.

Locally, William Baird of Auchmedden was regarded as Chief, but the Lyon Court does not recognize him as such.

Since William Baird 7th of Auchmedden died in 1775/7, no one has matriculated the undivided Arms of Auchmedden. The chiefly line was never completed and appears to be hazy.

There were two legends: one said it was a boar and the other said it was a bear who threatened the king, which is where the symbol is said to have originated. However, there is no proof of this.

The majority of Baird crests feature a griffin's, eagle's, or boar's head. The Auchmedden Baird crest is supposed to have a griffin's head, but the Clan Baird Society Worldwide's website shows an eagle's head. That's probably because of the eagle legend associated with Auchmedden Bairds.

So the answer is that Baird may have three clan crests. The most widely agreed-upon one is 'gryphon's head erased, Proper,' because it is the one that was registered. From what I can tell, the boar's head is mostly legend.

Clan Baird Places & People

People of Clan Baird

John Baird (d. 1689)

A post-revolutionary regime judge with the title Lord Newbyth and a baronetcy. This was passed down to William Baird, whose second son, David, became a leading general during the Napoleonic Wars.

John Logie Baird (1888-1946)

Television's forefather. He was born in Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, and attended Glasgow University. He broadcast the first television transmission from an attic in 1926 and continued his groundbreaking work until his death in 1946, including the first transatlantic transmission.

Clan Baird Tartans

The Baird Tartan first appears in Johnston's work in 1906, and the sample from the Highland Society of London is most likely from the same time period. However, the triple stripes are rendered in red rather than purple in both of these references.

Baird Historic

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Baird Contemporary

Clan Baird Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Baird Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Properly erased the head of a gryphon

Coat of Arms of Clan Baird

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). There are no such things as "family coats of arms." Personal weapons are depicted below (with the above exceptions). Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.