For starters, Colum MacKenzie isn't a nobleman, which is kind of the point. Many viewers will be able to make the leap from "laird" to "lord" when the term is first used to describe Colum MacKenzie, the Chieftain of the MacKenzie Clan-or as he is referred to in hushed voices when Claire first arrives at his home, "the laird." But even if lord and laird were used interchangeably in England and Scotland for centuries before the events of Outlander, the meaning may be somewhat skewed based on what the term "lord" has come to mean in medieval fiction. It's a messy web of politics and Catholic/Protestant feuding, but Outlander keeps it simple: the Jacobites want a Stuart king, the other Scots don't want another war, and the English ("Redcoats") only deal with rebellion one way.
The deposed King James, his son James Stuart, and his grandson Charles Stuart kept the fires of Jacobite rebellion burning for the next sixty years, until the events of Outlander begin. The Scots loyal to James II-referring to themselves as "Jacobites" as followers of Jacob, the Latin form of James-never forgot it. Why? Because years earlier, King James II was pressured out of the throne of England, Scotland, and Ireland in favor of his sister Mary. And the first step is knowing that when Outlander begins its 18th Century plot, Scotland and England are not at war. Since the show itself explores the history at work as part of its story, we'll keep light on the historical details and just stick to the necessities. And it's not a name for where a person hails from, merely which king they are loyal to. The addition of another term like "Jacobite" casually mentioned may have casual viewers feeling a bit overwhelmed, but it really is the last 'faction' at play in the plot of Outlander.
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