The Scottish Clan Donald (motto: 'Per Mare Per Terras' which means 'By sea and by land' ) is split into several branches including Macdonald of the Isles, Macdonald of Clan Ranald, Macdonald of Sleat, Macdonald of Keppoch, Macdonald of Ardnamurchan and McDonell of Glengarry. Like the Macdougall clan, they trace their ancestry to King Somerled of the Isles.

In 1692, a number of Macdonalds were killed in the Massacre of Glencoe when an initiative to suppress Jacobitism was entangled in the long running feud between the Macdonalds and Clan Campbell.

In Scottish Gaelic, they are often known collectively as Na Domhnallaich, or Siol Dhomhnaill (Offspring of Donald).