McNaught or MacNaught or Macnaught is a Scottish surname deriving from ''MacNeachdan'' which is a Gaelic patronymic for the Pictish name ''Nechdan'' meaning 'Pure'. It was anglicised as ''Macnaughten'' and variations of the name have led to Macnaught and MacKnight (also ''Macknight'' and ''McKnight''). The MacNaughts of Kilquhanty were a branch of the

Clan Macnaghten Clan Macnaghten (sometimes spelt as MacNachten, MacNaughton, McNaughton or McNorton), Scottish Gaelic: ''MacNeachdain'', is a Scottish clan.Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The ...

. Notable people with the surname include: *

Anita McNaught Anita McNaught (born 1965) is a British journalist, television correspondent and former presenter, based in Istanbul in Turkey. Previously, she worked for Al Jazeera English for 5½ years, as a roving Middle East correspondent. McNaught has wo ...

(born 1965), British-New Zealand journalist and TV presenter *

Erin McNaught Erin McNaught (born 22 May 1982) is an Australian model, actress, presenter, television personality and beauty pageant titleholder. McNaught grew up in Australia alongside her older brothers and began playing in a band named "Short Straw" in her ...

(born 1982), the 2006 Miss Australia * Euphemia McNaught (1902–2002), Canadian painter *

Ian McNaught-Davis Ian McNaught-Davis (30 August 1929 – 10 February 2014) was a British television presenter best known for presenting the BBC television series ''The Computer Programme'', ''Making the Most of the Micro'' and ''Micro Live'' in the 1980s. He was a ...

( fl 1950s-1980s), BBC TV presenter * James McNaught (1870–1919), Scottish footballer, 1901 FA Cup winner with Tottenham. *

Jane Macnaught This is a list of producers who have presided over the running of the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' at some point since it began on 9 December 1960. In the early days, producers came and went on a regular basis, some repeating several sho ...

, producer of British TV soap ''Coronation Street'' * John McNaught (1902–1970), Canadian radio broadcaster and writer * John McNaught (1964–1997), Scottish footballer * Johnny McNaught (1892–1972), Scottish footballer *

John Watson MacNaught John Watson MacNaught, (June 19, 1904 – December 25, 1984) was a Canadian politician. Born in Coleman, Prince Edward Island, he was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada representing the riding of Prince in the 1945 federal el ...

(1904–1984), Canadian politician *

Judith McNaught Judith McNaught (born May 10, 1944) is a bestselling author of over a dozen historical and contemporary romance novels, with 30 million copies of her works in print. She was also the first female executive producer at a CBS radio station. Early ...

(born 1944), American writer *

Ken McNaught Ken McNaught (born 11 January 1955) is a Scottish former footballer who played for Aston Villa from 1977 to 1983 and was part of their Championship winning side of 1981, European Cup victory in 1982 and won the European Super Cup in 1983 agains ...

(born 1955), Scottish footballer * Kenneth McNaught (1918–1997), Canadian historian *

Robert H. McNaught Robert H. McNaught (born in Scotland in 1956) is a Scottish-Australian astronomer at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University (ANU). He has collaborated with David J. Asher of the Armagh Observator ...

(born 1956), Scottish-Australian astronomer * William McNaught (1883-1953), English music critic and teacher, son of William Gray McNaught *

William McNaught (Glasgow) William McNaught (1813–1881) was a Scottish engineer, from Glasgow, who patented a compound steam engine in 1845. This was a technique of improving the efficiency of a standard simple Boulton & Watt beam engine. The engine was compounded by ...

(1813–1881), engineer who compounded a beam engine *

William McNaught (Rochdale) William McNaught ( - 1888) was a steam engine engineer from Rochdale, Lancashire, England. McNaught was born in Manchester in ( and apprenticed with a Mr Mills of Heywood, Bury. He then worked in London for John & Thomas Rennie before com ...

, (flourished 1840s-1870s), engineer of Petrie and McNaught, who invented a variable cut off gear and governor for a Stationary steam engine * William Gray McNaught (1849-1918), English music critic and teacher * William Kirkpatrick McNaught (1845–1919), Canadian politician * Willie McNaught (1922–1989), Scottish footballer (father of Ken)

See also