Millican
An Irish surname from a Gaelic nickname meaning “little bald one,” later used by families in several forms including Milligan and Millikin.
The #8,690 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 81,700 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Millican is usually explained as an anglicized form of Irish Gaelic surnames based on Maolagán / Ó Maolagáin. The root maol means “bald” or “shaven,” and in early Irish naming it often referred to a monk, devotee, or simply a “bald” person, with a diminutive ending giving the sense of “little bald one.” In that older naming system, the surname meant a descendant of such a person rather than describing the modern bearer directly.
History
19th- and early-20th-century surname writers grouped Millican with Milligan, Millikin, and related spellings as variants of the same Gaelic name. The form is especially associated with Ireland, but it also appears in Scots-Irish and later English-speaking records. Historical frequency lists show it in parts of northern Britain as well as in Irish genealogical material.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older dictionaries connected this whole family of surnames with the idea of a monk or devotee because maol could imply a shaved or tonsured head.
From the historical record
“MILLICAN ) (Celt.) for the Irish 0'Maoil{e)a- MILLIGAN cdin, 0'Maoil{e)agdin, Grandson MILLIKEN or Descendant of Maolacan, MILLIKIN '' MAOLAGAN = the Little Bald or Shaven One, Monk, Disciple [Ir. maol, bald, &c. -|- the double dim. suff. -ac-dn, (for -oc-dn,) -ag-dn (for -6g-dn] MILLICENT (A.-Fr.-Lat.) the common…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)