many books on scottish clans list such rules and guidelines. one such opinion is that people not bearing a clan surname, or surname claimed as a sept of a clan, should not wear the tartan of their mother's clan. this opinion is enforced by the fact that in the scottish clan system, the lord lyon states that membership to a clan technically passes through the surname. this means that children who bear their father's surname belong to the father's clan (if any), and that children who bear their mother's surname (her maiden name) belong to their mother's clan (if any). also, the lord lyon states that a clan tartan should only be worn by those who profess allegiance to that clan's chief.