Welcome to Scottish
Tartans World Register Online Search Help
To search for a tartan just enter part of the name of
the tartan you're searching for then click the Find button.
To use more advanced search capabilities, please select
a search from the list to the left of the Find button.
The following searches are available:
Tartan Name Search
This allows you to search for a tartan using all or part
of it's name. If you're unsure about the spelling you can use wildcard
characters in place of the part of the name you're unsure about as
described at the end of this page.
Colour Search
This powerful search allows you to specify which colours
you'd to search for and in what order you'd like them to appear in the
tartan. Please type in the colours in the order in which you'd like them to
appear - the colours must be typed in using the following
abbreviations:
| B |
Blue and shades or purple and
violet |
| R |
Red and shades of russet |
| G |
Green |
| T |
Tan and shades of brown |
| Y |
Yellow and shades or orange and gold |
| N |
Grey |
| K |
Black |
| W |
White |
If you're unsure about any of the colours please use wildcard characters in
place of the colours you're unsure about as described below.
Universal Search
This search automatically combines the other
searches.
Similar Sounding Tartan
This search can be used to find all tartans with names
which sound like the one you're searching for. This can be particularly useful
where you're unsure about how the name is spelled.
Family Name Search
This search searches a database of related family names
and names of septs to find tartans linked to the family name you
enter. Our database of related family names has been based on research from
historical sources but please note that no list of related family names and
septs can ever be completely comprehensive or accurate.
Similar Sounding Family Name
This search searches a database of related family names
and names of septs for names which sound like the name you entered -
particularly useful when you're unsure about how the name is spelled.
Notes Search
This allows you to search through the notes written for each tartan by the
register. Often these notes include information about where the tartan was
originally discovered, who it was registered by, et cetera.
Type Search
You can also search for tartans by type by entering the
type of tartan you're searching for then clicking Find
The Register puts each tartan into a category or type, the main types are
listed below: -
| Artefact |
Portrait |
| Beer |
Restricted |
| Clan |
Royal |
| Commemorative |
School |
| Corporate |
Sport |
| Country |
Trade |
| District |
Unidentified |
| Family |
Universal |
| Military |
University |
| Novelty |
Whisky |
| Pipe bands |
|
Many tartans belong to several types - for example Sport
and Rugby so if you wish you can make your search more specific by entering the types seperated by / - for example 'sport/rugby'
Sindex Search
This search is used by some experts to help identify fragments of cloth.
Unfortunately it is complicated and difficult to use so most people prefer to
use the more modern Colour Search facility (see above)
Wildcards in Searches
If you're uncertain about the spelling of part of the name just enter a
'wildcard' character % or * in place of the part of the name you're uncertain
about.
If you find that your search returns a very large number of results, try
making it more specific. If your search doesn't find the tartan you're looking
for, please try to make it less specific by making it shorter or using the % or
* wildcard characters in your search.
Viewing A Tartan
To see the image of the tartan you're searching for, click the View button
next to the tartan's name. You may need to scroll down to see the whole tartan
image. If you're using a dial-up modem it may take a few seconds for the tartan
to be displayed.
If your search finds a large number of tartans the results will
be split into several pages, Click the Next Page or Previous Page links to move
between pages.