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Clan Home

Clan Home: A Legacy of Hume Castle, Border Wardens and Being True to the End

Introduction

Clan Home, pronounced Hume and often historically written Hume, is one of the great Scottish Borders clans, rooted especially in Berwickshire, Hume Castle, The Hirsel, Fast Castle, Wedderburn, Dunglass, Marchmont, Paxton, and the eastern Border country.

The clan motto is:

“True to the End”

The clan crest is:

On a cap of maintenance Proper, a lion’s head erased Argent.

The clan plant badge is:

Broom.

The clan slogan is:

“A Home, A Home, A Home!”

The current chief is:

Michael David Alexander Douglas-Home
16th Earl of Home
Chief of Clan Home

The current seat is The Hirsel, while the historic seat is Hume Castle. Clan Home dominated the eastern Scottish Border country during much of the Middle Ages and produced more Wardens of the Eastern March than any other family. 

This article explores the history, people, heritage, tartans, crest, motto, castles, battles and modern legacy of Clan Home.

Chapter I: Origins of Clan Home

The name Home is pronounced Hume, and both spellings are strongly associated with the clan.

The name is territorial in origin and comes from Hume Castle and the lands of Hume in Berwickshire. Hume Castle stands on a hill between Gordon and Kelso, around 750 feet above sea level, with the village of Hume below it. 

Historic spellings and forms include:

  • Home

  • Hume

  • Hewme

  • Houm

  • Houme

  • Hoom

  • Hoome

  • Hum

  • Huym

  • Hom

One tradition explains that the Home family came into possession of Hume Castle when Ada, daughter of Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, married William of Greenlaw in the early 13th century. Ada was given Hume Castle, and William then took the surname Hume, later commonly styled Home. 

Clan Home belongs to the world of the Scottish Borders: hilltop castles, marcher lords, wardenship, Anglo-Scottish warfare, noble diplomacy, reiving country and political survival.

The Homes were not a Highland clan of island galleys and mountain glens. They were a Border clan and noble house, whose strength lay in castles, frontier office, landholding and control of the eastern marches.

Chapter II: Clan Territory and Ancestral Lands

Clan Home’s historic territory includes:

  • Berwickshire

  • Hume

  • Hume Castle

  • The Hirsel

  • Fast Castle

  • Wedderburn

  • Dunglass

  • Marchmont

  • Paxton

  • Hutton

  • Ayton

  • Greenlaw

  • The eastern Scottish Borders

  • The old East March

The historic seat is:

Hume Castle

The current seat is:

The Hirsel

Modern clan summaries list Hume Castle as the original historic seat and The Hirsel as the current seat of the Earls of Home. 

The Homes became one of the dominant families of the eastern Borders. Their position was strategic: they were close enough to England to be involved in war, diplomacy and border defence, but also close enough to Edinburgh and the Scottish court to become major national figures.

The clan’s district was not peaceful countryside. It was frontier land.

To live there required:

  • Strong towers

  • Fast riders

  • Political caution

  • Military readiness

  • Alliances

  • A reputation for reliability

That is why the motto “True to the End” fits Clan Home so well.

Chapter III: Important People of Clan Home

William of Greenlaw / William de Home

William of Greenlaw is central to the origin story of Clan Home.

Through his marriage to Ada, daughter of Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, he gained Hume Castle and adopted the surname connected with the lands. 

This marks the beginning of the Home/Hume chiefly identity.

Geoffrey de Home

Geoffrey de Home appears in the late 13th-century records and rendered homage to Edward I of England in 1296, during the turbulent period of the Wars of Scottish Independence.

This places the Home name directly in the era of Wallace, Bruce, English overlordship and Scottish resistance.

The Homes of Wedderburn

The Homes of Wedderburn became the senior cadet branch of the clan.

Wedderburn Castle in Berwickshire is still recognised as the seat of this important branch. Modern clan summaries list Home of Wedderburn among the principal branches of the clan. 

The Earls of Home

The chiefly line became the Earls of Home, one of the great noble titles of the Scottish Borders.

The Earls of Home carried the clan into the world of Scottish and British politics, landholding and national office.

Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home

One of the most famous modern members of the family was Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home.

He renounced his peerage and became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1963. Clan.com notes this as one of the most notable modern events connected with the Home/Hume name. 

His career gave Clan Home a rare modern link to the highest level of British political leadership.

Michael Douglas-Home, 16th Earl of Home

The current chief is:

Michael David Alexander Douglas-Home
16th Earl of Home
Chief of Clan Home

Modern clan summaries identify him as the current chief of the clan. 

Chapter IV: Castles, Strongholds and Historic Sites

Hume Castle

Hume Castle is the great historic seat of Clan Home.

It stands on a hill in Berwickshire, between Gordon and Kelso, with commanding views across the surrounding country. The castle is the place from which the clan takes its name. 

For Clan Home, Hume Castle represents:

  • Origin

  • Chiefship

  • Border strength

  • Watchfulness

  • Hilltop defence

  • The identity of the name itself

It is one of the essential clan sites of the Scottish Borders.

The Hirsel

The Hirsel is the modern seat of the Earls of Home.

It represents the continuation of the chiefly line into the modern era. 

Fast Castle

Fast Castle, on the Berwickshire coast, is another historic seat associated with Clan Home.

Its dramatic cliff-top position reflects the defensive and maritime edge of Border power.

Wedderburn Castle

Wedderburn Castle is the seat of the Homes of Wedderburn, the senior cadet branch of the clan.

This branch is important because it shows the spread of Home influence through Berwickshire and the wider Borders.

Marchmont House

Marchmont House is another important Home-associated house in Berwickshire.

Paxton House, Hutton Castle and Ayton Castle

Modern clan summaries list Paxton House, Hutton Castle and Ayton Castle among castles and houses associated with Clan Home. 

Together, these sites show the depth of Home power across the eastern Borders.

Chapter V: Battles, Wars and Clan Events

Clan Home’s history is shaped by Border warfare, wardenship, noble politics and the military geography of the East March.

The Wars of Scottish Independence

By 1296, Geoffrey de Home was important enough to appear in records connected with Edward I’s domination of Scotland. 

The Homes lived through the same violent era that shaped the reputations of Wallace, Bruce and many Border families.

Wardens of the Eastern March

Clan Home produced eight Wardens of the Eastern March, more than any other family. 

This was a major office.

The Warden of a March was responsible for order, defence, diplomacy and law enforcement along the dangerous Anglo-Scottish border.

To hold this office repeatedly shows the extraordinary power and trust attached to the Home name.

Border Warfare and Reiving

The Homes belonged to the eastern Border world.

This was a land of:

  • Raids

  • Feuds

  • Castle sieges

  • Cross-border retaliation

  • March law

  • Noble bargaining

  • Crown service

  • Sudden violence

Unlike some reiver families known mainly for raiding, the Homes were often associated with formal authority and wardenship. Their power came through both military strength and official responsibility.

Flodden and Border Memory

The Home clan’s Borders location places it within the military world that culminated in great Anglo-Scottish conflicts such as Flodden in 1513.

A ScotClans account of a Clan Home gathering notes a visit to the Flodden memorial, showing how deeply the clan’s modern heritage remains tied to the Border battlefield landscape. 

Modern Clan Association

The Clan Home Association exists for people named Home, Hume, or those connected with the clan, and works to promote causes of interest to clan members and friends. 

This keeps the Home/Hume identity active in modern Scottish heritage.

Chapter VI: Clan Crest, Motto and Badge

Clan Crest

The Clan Home crest is:

On a cap of maintenance Proper, a lion’s head erased Argent.

In simpler terms, it shows a silver lion’s head on a cap of maintenance.

The lion suggests:

  • Courage

  • Nobility

  • Authority

  • Border strength

  • Royal service

  • Watchful leadership

Modern clan summaries give the chief’s crest as a lion’s head erased Argent on a cap of maintenance. 

Clan Motto

The clan motto is:

“True to the End”

This is one of the strongest loyalty mottoes in Scottish clan tradition.

It means:

  • Loyal until death

  • Faithful in crisis

  • Steadfast under pressure

  • Trustworthy to the last

  • Bound by honour and duty

For a Border clan, this motto matters. On the marches, loyalty could mean survival.

Clan Slogan

The clan slogan is:

“A Home, A Home, A Home!”

Modern clan summaries list this as the Home slogan. 

It is a rallying cry: simple, direct and built for the battlefield or gathering.

Clan Badge

The plant badge is:

Broom

Modern clan summaries list Broom as the plant badge of Clan Home. 

Broom is a fitting Border badge:

  • Hardy

  • Bright

  • Native to rough ground

  • Strong in exposed country

  • A symbol of endurance

Chapter VII: Clan Tartans

Clan Home / Hume has a recognised tartan tradition.

Home or Hume Tartan

The Home or Hume tartan is recorded by the Scottish Register of Tartans.

The register records a Home or Hume (Vestiarium Scoticum) tartan as a Clan/Family tartan dated 1 January 1842. It notes that the tartan of the ancient family of Home has the same scheme as the Grey Douglas, though differing in colour. 

Hume or Home Tartan

The Scottish Register also lists Hume or Home as a tartan entry. 

This reflects the interchangeable use of the two spellings.

Home Ancient and Modern Tartans

Modern tartan suppliers commonly offer Home/Hume tartans in:

  • Ancient

  • Modern

  • Muted

  • Weathered

  • Dress or variant forms where available

The difference usually reflects dye shade:

  • Ancient colours are softer and lighter.

  • Modern colours are deeper and stronger.

  • Weathered colours are muted and aged.

The Meaning of Home Tartan Today

For modern Home and Hume descendants, tartan represents:

  • Berwickshire roots

  • Hume Castle

  • The motto “True to the End”

  • The lion’s head crest

  • Broom plant badge

  • Border wardenship

  • Family pride and diaspora identity

The Home/Hume tartan gives one of Scotland’s great Border names a visible and wearable identity.

Chapter VIII: Heritage, Identity and Clan Traditions

Clan Home represents a proud Border identity built on loyalty, wardenship, castle power and frontier responsibility.

Its story includes:

  • Hume Castle

  • Berwickshire roots

  • The Earls of Home

  • The Hirsel

  • Fast Castle

  • Wedderburn Castle

  • Wardens of the Eastern March

  • The motto “True to the End”

  • The slogan “A Home, A Home, A Home!”

  • The lion crest

  • Broom plant badge

  • Home/Hume tartans

  • A living chief

Associated names and septs include:

  • Home

  • Hume

  • Hewme

  • Hom

  • Hoom

  • Hoome

  • Houm

  • Houme

  • Hum

  • Huym

  • Ayton

  • Aytoun

  • Aiton

  • Blackadder

  • Buncle

  • Bunkle

  • Dunbar

  • Eaton

  • Greenlaw

  • Greenlee

  • Greenlees

  • Haliburton

  • Halyburton

  • Landels

  • Mack

  • Paxton

  • Nesbit

  • Nesbitt

  • Nisbet

  • Trotter

  • Wedderburn

Modern clan summaries list many of these as septs or associated names of Clan Home. 

Chapter IX: Clan Home Today

Today, Clan Home remains a recognised Scottish clan with a living chief.

The current chief is:

Michael David Alexander Douglas-Home
16th Earl of Home
Chief of Clan Home

The current seat is:

The Hirsel

The historic seat is:

Hume Castle 

Modern Clan Home identity can be found through:

  • Clan Home Association

  • Family history research

  • Tartan wearing

  • Visits to Hume Castle and The Hirsel country

  • Scottish Borders heritage events

  • Study of East March wardenship

  • Genealogy projects

  • Diaspora communities across the world

The clan stands today as a symbol of Border loyalty, noble service, wardenship, endurance and Scottish family pride.

Chapter X: Legacy of Clan Home

The story of Clan Home begins on a hill in Berwickshire.

From Hume Castle, the clan rose to become one of the dominant powers of the eastern Scottish Borders. Its chiefs became wardens, nobles, earls and national figures.

Its crest, the lion’s head, speaks of courage, nobility and authority.

Its plant badge, broom, speaks of endurance in rough country.

Its motto gives the clan its voice:

True to the End.

That phrase captures the Home spirit: faithful, steadfast, loyal and unbroken.

From Hume Castle to The Hirsel, from the East March to descendants across the world, Clan Home continues to carry its history forward.

Its legacy is written in tartan, broom, Border stone, lion crests, wardenship, family records and the pride of those who still honour the name.

Tartan Time Machine Closing Paragraph

At Tartan Time Machine, we bring Scotland’s past into the present by exploring the clans, castles, battles, kirkyards, legends and forgotten stories that shaped the nation.

Clan Home is one chapter in that greater story — a story of Hume Castle, Berwickshire roots, Border wardens, lion crests, broom badges, tartans and the powerful promise to remain True to the End.

Discover more Scottish history, clan stories, castle features and heritage content at:

www.tartantimemachine.com