McLean
A Scottish and Irish surname usually meaning “son of Gillean,” a Gaelic personal name linked to a clan ancestor.
The #801 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,137 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McLean is a Gaelic patronymic built from Mac, meaning “son of,” plus a personal name traditionally taken as Gillean. In older surname books, Gillean is explained as the name of a Highland chieftain and clan ancestor, so the surname came to mean “son of Gillean” or “descendant of Gillean.” Some 19th-century writers also connected it with variants such as Mac Gillean, Mac Ailean, or related spellings, so the exact underlying personal name can vary by family branch and region.
History
The name is strongly associated with the Scottish Highland Clan Maclean, which made it especially prominent in western Scotland and among later Scottish diaspora communities. Historical spelling was highly variable, and forms such as MacLean, McLean, MacClean, and MacKlein/ MacKellen appear in older records and surname dictionaries. Irish sources also record the name among anglicized Gaelic surnames, though not every McLean family shares the same origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Clan tradition links the family crest to the battle-axe, said to recall the weapon of the ancestral Gillean.
From the historical record
“McLAURIN. The son of Ldbhruinn, or Lawrence. McLEAN. MacGillean. From a Highland chieftain of the name of Gillean, who was the progenitor of this family. This Gillean was a celebrated warrior, and was called Gillean- ni-Tuoidh, from his ordinary weapon, a battle-ax, which in the Gaelic is Tuoidh, which his…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian NamesNotable people named McLean
- Don McLean (b. 1945)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.