McLemore
A Scottish or Irish-style surname probably meaning “son of Lemore,” though the underlying personal name is uncertain.
The #3,306 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,456 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McLemore is a surname in the Mac/Mc tradition, where the prefix means “son of.” The second element appears to come from a personal name or nickname like Lemore, but its exact origin is not firmly established. In many cases, surnames of this shape were formed from an older given name that has since disappeared from common use, which makes the literal meaning hard to recover with confidence.
History
The name is found mainly in the United States today, where it likely reflects an Anglicized surname of Scottish or Irish background. As with many Mc- surnames, spelling often varied after migration, and forms such as McLemore, MacLemore, and similar spellings can appear in records. Because the base name is obscure, the surname’s early history is less certain than for more transparent Mc- names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Surnames beginning with Mc- often preserve the memory of a medieval personal name that no longer survives independently, which is probably the case here.