Cathan

This Saint appears in the Aberdeen Breviary, Walter Bower's Scotichronicon, and the Acta Sanctorum, and a number of placenames in western Scotland are associated with him.

Very little is known of him; he is generally only mentioned in connection with his more famous nephew Saint Blane, who was born on Bute and later proselytized among the Picts.

Cathan is said to have lived for a time at the monastery at Stornoway on the isle of Lewis, and his relics are said to have been housed at a chapel founded by Clan MacLeod on the same island.

[9] Cathan's name survives in the various toponyms in the area containing the element Chattan (where the first consonant is lenited), such as: all on Bute.

[11] Several families on Bute bore the honoured name of Mac-gill-chattan—son of the servant of Catan and on account of the frequent occurrence of names similarly connected with those of saints who had churches dedicated to them in this vicinity e.g., Mac-gill-munn, Macgill-chiaran, Mac-gill-mhichell,—and connected with church offices, Mac-gill-espy (bishop), Mac-gill-Christ etc.