Clan MacBrayne

The name MacBrayne comes from the Gaelic Mac a' Bhriuthainn, which means 'son of the judge'.

Recorded MacBraynes include a Eugenius MacBrehin who was a student at St. Andrews in 1525. There is also an Anna MacBreynr in Gortenagor in 1672.

Archibald Mcbrain and Duncan Mcbrain were both noted rebels in Argyllshire in 1685.

An employee called MacBraine in Mackintosh's 'secret work' in the making of cudbear, sold the secret of manufacture to an English company around the end of the 18th century.

In 1878, a David MacBrayne became the owner of a number of vessels which provided ferry services to parts of the Western Isles. The company quickly expanded and became the main suppliers of both passenger and freight ferry services from the Scottish mainland to most of the islands. The company remained in the MacBrayne family until it went bankrupt in 1928, and ownership was spilt between a private company and a state owned company. By 1970 the whole company was state owned, and then at the beginning of 1973 it merged with Caledonian Steam Packet Company, and formed under the new name of Caledonian MacBrayne. Today it remains a major ferry company providing services to over 20 of the major islands in the Western Isles from the mainland.