The Duff Family History Page

On this page, I will document what I know, and what I find out through research, of my family's history. My name has Scottish origins and is said to be one of the oldest families in Scotland. The family was mainly settled in the north-east of Scotland in Fife.

Gaelic Name:Origin of Name: MacDhuibh
Motto:Deus juvat (God assists)
Badge:Red Whortleberry
Lands:Fife, Lothian, Strathbran and Strathbogie
Gaelic, Dubh (black)


Clan Duff originated from the Royal Scoto-Pictish line, of which Queen Gruoch stood
as its senior representative. She and her second husband, MacBeth, would be
immortalised by William Shakespeare in literature. Her son succeeded the throne but was murdered in 1058, whereby Malcolm Canmore won the throne. His son Aedh, married Margaret of Moray, the granddaughter of queen Gruoch, and became both the Earl of Fife and the Abbott of Abernethy (the ancient Pictish capital).