DNA Presentations at Parliament

At the 19th MacLeod Clan Parliament in 2023, Mark MacLeod, DNA Coordinator for ACMS, presented a talk entitled: The DNA of Clan MacLeod: Is Leòd our common ancestor?

Watch this 30-minute YouTube video to find out more.

In summary, DNA shows us that most MacLeod men can be placed in one of 5 genetically distinct groups. The MacLeod men in the largest of these groups are likely direct paternal line descendants of Leòd, the founder of the clan.

The other 4 groups are likely descendants of men who assumed the MacLeod surname far back in time. Also presented is DNA evidence which supports that most MacLeod men in these 5 groups will likely have a female MacLeod somewhere in their family tree who is a direct descendant of Leòd.

Therefore, most MacLeods, women and men, will likely have a link back to Leòd, either along their paternal line or through a maternal connection, or both.

At the 20th Clan MacLeod Gathering and Parliament in 2026, Mark MacLeod presented another talk, this time entitled: The DNA of Leòd’s ancestors and descendants. Co-authors are Andrew Piers MacLeod, ACMS Genealogy Coordinator, and Colin Macleod and Roderick MacLeod, fellow admins of the MacLeod DNA Project.

Watch this 35-minute YouTube video to find out more.

The focus of this talk is on the DNA of MacLeods in the so-called chiefly line. These men have a MacLeod clan chief somewhere in their paternal line.

Y-DNA test results have shown that some published genealogies of Clan MacLeod are incorrect. In one example, the genetic evidence indicates Leòd’s paternal ancestors were not from the Isle of Man but instead they came from Norway with likely links to Orkney. This means that Olaf the Black was not Leòd’s father.

Unique Y-DNA mutations found in the tests of many MacLeods are linked to individuals such as Leòd and his immediate descendants along with the progenitors of several sub-branches of the chiefly lines of Clan MacLeod, including the Harris & Dunvegan and Lewis & Raasay branches of the clan.