This history of McNames - a Scottish surnames McA-Z

Over the centuries millions of Scots have left their homeland to find the fame and fortune around the globe, and they have taken their Scottish names with them, so giving the world McDonalds and Campbell’s Tomato Soup - not to mention Ewan McGregor and Nanny McPhee.

Our sister title The Scotsman has compiled a brief history of them all:

MacAdam

Scottish surname that originated in Ayrshire. The name means ‘son of Adam’, with Adam being the name of the first man in the Bible and believed to mean simply ‘man’ in Hebrew.

MacAlister, MacAllister

Clan that became established in Kintyre and Bute. The name MacAllister means ‘son of Alexander’ or ‘son of Alistair’ with Alexander meaning ‘defender of men’ and Alistair and Alasdair being its Scottish and Gaelic variants. The first chief of the Clan MacAlister was Alexander, a descendant of the famous Somerled, King of the Isles.

MacAslpine, McAlpine

Historic Scottish surname. The name originated with Kenneth, son of Alpin, who in 843 became King of both Pics and Scots, and in the process began a royal dynasty that would rule the new kingdom of Alba until the death of Malcolm II in 1034.

Little is known about Kenneth MacAlpine himself, even whether he was a Scot or a Pict, and the origin of the name Alpin is obscure, but is thought to be of Pictish or Brythonic derivation, coming from the word alp meaning ‘rock’ (also responsible for the name of the European mountain range the Alps).

It is thought that alp derives from the Latin word albus meaning ‘white’, although it is possible that the Latin word might itself derive from an even earlier Celtic word.

MacAndrew, McAndrew

Scottish surname that means ‘son of Andrew’. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland (as well as Greece and Russia).

MacArthur

Scottish surname and claim that became established in the Lorne district of Argyll. The name MacArthur means ‘son of Arthur’, with the name believed to derive from the Old Gaelic word art for ‘bear’ and Arthur becoming the anglicized form of the Gaelic name Artair meaning ‘bear-like’.

Arthur is, of course, also associated with the legendary Celtic king of the Britons who lived in Camelot and presided over the Knight of the Round Table.

MacAskill, McCaskill


Scottish surname that originated in Lewis and Skye. The name comes from the Gaelic MacAsgaill, derived in turn from the Norse name Arskell or Asketil meaning ‘cauldron of sacrifice to the gods’.

MacAulay, Macaulay

Scottish surname that originated in Lewis, although there are also MacAulays from Dunbartonshire. In most cases the name comes from the Gaelic MacAmhaoibh, which is in turn the Gaelic variant of the Norse name Olaf meaning ‘ancestor’s descendant’.

MacCartney, McCartney

Scottish surname that originates in Galloway. The name means ‘son of Art’ with Art the Gaelic for bear. Famous McCartneys include the Beatle Paul McCartney, who lived for a time not far from Galloway in Kintyre.

McClintock, McLintock, MacLinktock

Scottish surname that derives from the Gaelic Mac Gille Fhiondaig and means ‘son of the servant of Saint Findon’. Saint Findon is believed to have been a 7th-century disciple of Saint Columba, and the name Findom derives from the Gaelic fionn meaning ‘fair’.

MacColl, McColl

Scottish surname that originated in Argyll. The name comes from the surname MacColla and means ‘son of Colla’, with Colla being an old Gaelic first name that possibly means ‘high one’. MacConnell, McConnell Scottish surname. This name does not (as you might imagine derive from the Irish surname Connel, but instead, as with the surname

MacDonnell, is a variation of the surname MacDonald meaning ‘son of Donald’, or its Gaelic from Mac Dhomhnuill.

MacDiarmid, McDiarmid

Scottish surname that derives from the Gaelic Mac Dhiarmaid and means ‘son of Dermott’. Diarmaid a Gaelic and Irish first name meaning ‘freeman’ or ‘free from envy’, and Dermott is the anglicized form of the name. The MacDiarmids originated in Perthshire.

MacDonald, McDonald, Macdonald

The most common surname in Scotland beginning with ‘Mac’. In Gaelic, mac means ‘son of’ and so MacDonald means ‘son of Donald’. Donald is a name of Gaelic origin that means ‘world ruler’ and MacDonald is the anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Dhomhnuill.

The Macdonalds took their name from a Donald who was the son of the legendary 12th-centruy Hebridean warlord Somerled. The family would dominate the Hebrides in the 13th to 15th centuries from their islands stronghold of Islay, holding the title of Lord of the Isles.

Further north, the MacDonalds of Clanranald were pre-eminent in the northern Hebrides. Other MacDonalds were established at Sleat in Skye, in Ardamurchan, and in Glencoe, where in February 1692 the famous massacre took place with 38 MacDonalds being killed in very cold blood by a Government regiment led by Campbells.

MacDonnell

Scottish surname and clan that became established on the Scottish mainland in Glengarry in the Highlands and Keppoch in Lochaber.

The name derived from the clan name MacDonald meaning ‘son of Donald’.

MacDougall, MacDougal

Scottish surname and clain that became established in the Lorne region of Argyll. As with the Clan MacDonald, the MacDougalls were descended from the legendary warlord Somerled, in this case from his son Dougal.

The name MacDougall derives from the Gaelic MacDhugaill and means ‘son of Dougal meaning ‘dark stranger’.

MacDuff

Scottish surname that means ‘Son of Duff’. The name Duff comes from the Gaelic duibh meaning ‘black’. The MacDuffs were the famous Thanes of Fife who helped Malcolm Canmore regain the throne from Macbeth in 1057.

MacDuff is forever remembered from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth which is often misquoted as ‘Lead on, MacDuff’. The actual line spoken by Macbeth is ‘Lay on , MacDuff’.

MacEwan, McEwan, MacEwan

Scottish surname that means ‘son of Ewan’ Ewan is a version of the Gaelic name Eoghan, which is of obscure origin, but might possible mean ‘of the yew tree’ or ‘of youth’.

MacFadyen, McFadden