Macrath, father of Gilleoin of the Aird
See Meaning and Probable Origin of the Name:
In a genealogy of the Mackenzies contained in The Black Book of Clanranald, we find it stated that Gilleoin of the Aird, from whom the old Earls Gillanders of Ross and the Mackenzies of Kintail are traced, was the son of Macrath (McRrath).4 Supposing the genealogy to be correct, this Macrath would have lived not earlier than the tenth century. By that time Christianity was fairly established in the Highlands of Scotland, and as the name Gilleoin means the servent of St. John, it is not at all unlikely that Macrath also may have been so named from some family connection with the early Church in the Highlands.5