MacKinnon
A Scottish Gaelic surname traditionally linked to the old personal name Finghin, meaning roughly “fair-born.”
The #7,882 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,528 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The usual Gaelic form is Mac Fhionghuin, meaning “son of Fionghuin” or “son of Finghin.” Older scholarship connects the personal name Finghin to an ancient Gaelic element meaning “fair” or “fair-born,” from fionn “fair, white” plus a birth/name element. The name appears in medieval and early modern Gaelic records in forms such as M'Fingon and related spellings.
History
MacKinnon is a Highland Scottish clan surname, especially associated with Skye and the Inner Hebrides. It appears in historical records in several Gaelic spellings and was later anglicized as Mackinnon, MacKinnon, and related forms. The clan tradition and the surname’s early documentary forms helped preserve the name across Scotland and the Scottish diaspora.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname’s older Gaelic form survived in record books even when English spelling gradually standardized it as Mackinnon.
From the historical record
“Mackinlay, G. M'Fhionnla(idh) ; "from Pinlay. MACKINNON, G. M'Fhionghuin, M. G. Fionghuine, g. (M'V.), in Macfingon (1400), 0. G. Finguni, gen. (B. of Deer), Ir. Finghin, M. Ir. Finghin, Finnguine, E. Ir. Finguine : * Vimh- gonio-s, " fair-born " (fionn and gin) ; cf. for force and partial root Gr. KaWiyevr/s, and…”
— Etymology of the principal Gaelic national names, personal names, surnamesNotable people named MacKinnon
- Roderick MacKinnon (b. 1956)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.