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Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel.
Here is the information we found about your proposed name, Liam Connor Byron of MacRae, in Scotland, and if it would be appropriate for a non-noble 16th C highlander to have arms.
In the 16th century, a Scottish highlander would speak Gaelic and have a Gaelic name. At that time, most Scottish records were written in Scots, a language similar to English; therefore, if your name had been written, it would have been written in that language. Because different clerks often spelled the same name different ways, there might be several Scots versions of the same name. The pronounciation would be basically the same in Gaelic or Scots. I'll address the Gaelic version first.
There are two elements in the name that simply aren't appropriate for a Gaelic name -- <Liam> and <Byron>. The name <Liam> was not used until sometime after the 16th century; therefore, it would be inappropriate for a 16th century Scotsman. For more information, on this name, see the article "Concerning the Name Liam" at derives from an English place name. It was used as a surname in England; it was not used as a given name until sometime after the 16th century. An English surname would not have been used in a Gaelic name in the 16th century.
Since <Liam> is a modern nickname for <William>, we recommend the name <Uilliam>, a Gaelic form of <William>, especially as we have documentation for its use in your period in Scotland. The Irish diminutive form <Uilleag> has not been found in Scottish records, but it might have been used there.
There is some question whether the name <Connor> was in use in Scotland in period. While you may choose <Conchobhair>, the Irish Gaelic form of <Connor>, we would not recommend it. The spelling <Connor> is found in Ireland, but not in Scotland. We have only one late period individual that we know of with the byname <M'Conoquhair>, which we believe derives from the Gaelic <Mac Conchobhair>, but we know nothing about the name's origins. It could be a true Scottish simple patronymic (indicating his Scottish father was named Conchobhair), it could be an "imported" Irish byname, possibly indicating his Irish father was named Conchobhair. However, it is clear that, in Scotland, the name would be pronounced <Conchor> instead of <Connor>. "ch" here represents a glottal sound not found in English; it is the hard rasping 'ch' sound in the normal Scottish pronunication of "loch" or the German "ach."
We have not found a single example of a middle name in Scotland in the 16th century in either Gaelic or Scots. You should choose one given name.
MacRae derives from the Gaelic given name Macrath; one 15th century source gives the form <mac ic raith>.[1] Other possible Gaelic forms are <mac mhic raith> and, in some areas <mac mic raith>. In period Gaelic-speaking people didn't normally indicate their clan affliation through their byname. The byname <mac ic raith> was a patronymic meaning "son of Macrath" indicating that the bearer's father's given name was Macrath, not an indication that its bearer was a member of Clan MacRae.
For the Gaelic version of your name, we recommend <uilliam mac ic
raith>. Another possibility is <uilleag mac ic raith>, though we are
not certain that <uilleag> was used in Scotland.
Now, to the written Scots version of your name. A combination of any 16th century Scots spelling of <William> with any 16th century Scots rendering of <mac ic raith> would be appropriate.
<Uilliam> is the Gaelic form of <William>. We can offer several Scots spellings of <William> from the first 1/2 of the 16th century, any of which are appropriate for this use. Note that the "3" represents the letter "yogh", which looks like a z with a tail like the letter y and is generally pronounced like the y in yes:
Black's "Surnames of Scotland" lists several Scots renderings of the patronymic <mac ic raith>. [2]
So, for example, in Scots language documents, <uilliam mac ic raith> might appear as <william makmekrathe>, <wil3eam makcreith>, or <willeam m'krayth>. He might even appear by more than one spelling in the same document.
Tartan existed in period Scotland, but the system of clan tartans we know today was a late 18th-early 19th century invention. The SCA has no policy regarding their use, but we would recommend that you avoid the idea that you must wear a specific clan tartan to show clan affliation, because that is a modern innovation.
Finally, you asked whether a mid-sixteenth century non-noble Highland Scot would have a coat of arms. This is a tricky question to answer because it is not clear what "noble" means or who was entitled to bear arms in your culture.
In the broadest sense, the nobility can be considered to include all land holders. To quote one historian, "The Scottish concept of nobility ... included those who in England would be called gentry and in Scotland lairds....Indeed the only clear-cut division between ordinary people and their social betters is the tenurial one between the mass of the peasantry who rented land from year to year, and the freeholders, who had security of tenure and generally held their land in perpetuity." [5] The concept of who is nobility is much fuzzier in the Gaelic highlands, but a clan chief and his family would be considered part of nobility.
So, if you mean to take a Gaelic name, and don't mean to be a land owner, then it seems likely you would not have been armigerous. However, if you are a landowner, in any part of Scotland, rather than a tacksman, or one who rents from a landowner, then you probably would use some form of heraldy.
In period, Highland armory in Scotland was stylistically distinct from Lowland armory and from other European armory. Today, much of the armory registered to heads of Highland Clans was designed after the 16th century. Only a few clan chiefs, MacLeod of Lewis for example, continue in to use the pre-17th century form.
Typical pre-17th century Highland armory has been called "totemic" in nature. It combined a number of different "totemic symbols" in one set of arms in order to show an individual's believed or actual descent or allegiance. The armory might be drawn in different ways at different times to use the symbols being stressed at the time. This practice does not occur elsewhere Scotland or in the rest of Europe where the coat of arms remained fixed in content. [4]
If you are interested in designing typical Highland armory, you should be prepared for some difficulty in the SCA registration process, since much of typical Highland armory is more complex than SCA rules generally allow. The SCA will allow you to register armory that violates its rules if you can show that the style is consistent for a particular place and time in period. We can help you with the documentation for style exception and discuss which types of "totems" would be appropriate to your persona. Unfortunately, we do not know as much about this topic as we might like, but we do have some information which would be of interest.
Effrick neyn Kenyeoch vc Harrald, Talan Gwynek, Zenobia Naphtali, Arval d'Espas Nord, Daniel de Lincoln, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Lindorm Eriksson, and Alan Fairfax aided in the research and construction of this letter.
We hope this has been helpful. If we can be of further assistance, please let us know.
Yours in service,
Margaret Makafee
Academy of Saint Gabriel
[2] Black, George F. The Surnames of Scotland
[3] Alexander Grant, _Independance and Nationhood: Scotland 1306 - 1469_, ed. Jenny Wormald, vol. 3, _The New History of Scotland_ (London: Edward Arnold, 1984).
[4] Pye, "Armory of the Western Highlands", Coat of Arms Vol. XI #81, January 1970 and Vol XI #82, April 1970.