Surname Maclan - Meaning and Origin
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Maclan: What does the surname Maclan mean?
The surname Maclan is of Scottish origin and it is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Gille Eathain, a patronymic name meaning "son of the servant of Saint John." The Mac prefix in Scottish and Irish surnames stands for "son of" and is often followed by the personal name of the father or a prominent ancestor. In this case, Maclan denotes a familial connection to a servant of Saint John. Like many surnames, Maclan has been subjected to various spelling transformations depending on the region, language, and period, and variants of the name may include MacLean, Maclean, MacLaine, and Maclean. Surnames like Maclan were significant in the Middle Ages, as they provided a way of distinguishing people and were often used for administrative purposes. They carried a wealth of information about family relationships, geographical origins, and even professional trades or communal roles.
Order DNA origin analysisMaclan: Where does the name Maclan come from?
The surname Maclan is considered to be of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic MacGilleFhaolain which means "son of the servant of St. Fillan". Fillan was an Irish missionary of the 8th century who became popular in Scotland. Surnames of this kind came into general use in Europe during the Middle Ages as a means of distinguishing between persons with the same given name. Most of the instances of the surname Maclan can be found in the Shetland Islands, located in Scotland.
However, it appears that the surname Maclan is relatively uncommon today, hence it's hard to determine where it is most prevalent currently. Access to global genealogical data would be required for a most proper current analysis. But, generally, it can be said that it could be found in countries where Scottish people historically emigrated to, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Keep in mind, over the years, the spelling of surnames often change, and Maclan might be found under different variants.
Variations of the surname Maclan
The surname Maclan is not widespread, and its origin is possibly Scottish, considering the prefix "Mac". Elsewhere, the surname could be a variant, misspelling or phonetic equivalent of other, more common surnames. It could be a variant of McLean or MacLaine, both of which are common Scottish surnames. The prefix "Mac" often denotes "son of" in Celtic languages, so variations might include "Mclan", "Mclean", "Maclean", "Macklan", and "Maclane".
More distant variants might drop or change the prefix, resulting in "Clan", "Clean", "Klan", "Lane" or "Lean". Spellings might also change the "a" to an "e", or the "c" to a "k". Additionally, the simple addition or removal of an "e" at the end could create other surnames. Thus, additional variants might include "Macklane", "Macklean", "MacLan", "M'Clane", "MacLaine", "Maiclean", and "M'Laine".
The surname could also have been anglicized from a similar sounding Gaelic surname. However, without more specific information about the origin and heritage of the surname Maclan, these are only possible considerations. As genealogy and family history can be complex, further personal and historical research would be needed to accurately trace the variations of this surname.
Famous people with the name Maclan
- Ewan MacLan, Scottish Professional Wrestler
- Sine MacLan, Scottish author and storyteller
- Martha MacLan, British actress
- William McLan, Scottish footballer
- Callum MacLan, Scottish actor, singer and songwriter
- Angus MacLan, Scottish politician
- Carrie MacLan, American lawyer and writer
- Bruce MacLan, English poet
- Marty MacLan, Former Australian rules footballer
- Ronald MacLan, British composer and conductor