In 1951, he was named heir to his grandmother, changed his surname to "MacLeod of MacLeod", and was recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms as "John MacLeod of MacLeod, Younger". He matriculated arms at Lyon Office in 1962. He later succeeded as Chief of Clan MacLeod in 1976. In 2000, faced with the high cost of repairs to Dunvegan Castle, his clan's seat for more than 800 years, he put the Black Cuillin range in Skye on the market for £10 million. He also planned to build an 80-bedroom hotel on his Skye estate with the proceeds of the sale. The planned sale caused outrage at the time and was never completed. He had also considered transferring the range to a charitable trust for public ownership.