The Colquhoun motto being 'SI JE PUIS' translates as IF I CAN.

The name of Colquhoun is taken from an area of land around Kilpatrick which is on the north side of the River Clyde, to the west of Glasgow. These lands were granted to Humphrey of Kilpatrick by Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, in the time of Alexander II. In the 14th century, Sir Robert Kilpatrick married the Fair Maid of Luss, daughter of the Laird of Luss, and it is since then the chief of the Colquhouns has been known as Colquhoun of Colquhoun and Luss.