''MacLeòid'' or MhicLeòid (in the genitive case) is a masculine

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

. The name translates into English as "son of '' Leòd''", and the feminine form is ''NicLeòid'': a contraction of "Nighean-Mhic-Leòid", meaning "daughter of the son of Leòd." These surnames originated as

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, ...

ic names; however, they no longer refer to the actual name of the bearer's father or grandfather. There are numerous

Anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

forms of ''MacLeòid''.

Etymology

The

''MacLeòid'' originated as a

, in the form of ''mac Leòid'', which translates into English as "son of ''Leòd''". Today, however, the

''MacLeòid'' does not refer to the actual name of the bearer's father. The name ''Leòd'' is a Scottish Gaelic derivative of the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

personal name ''Ljótr''. This Old Norse

personal name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

is composed of an element which translates into English as "ugly".

Feminine form

''MacLeòid'' is a masculine surname. The Scottish Gaelic form of this surname for females is ''NicLeòid''. This feminine name is composed of the prefix ''Nic-'' which is an

abbreviated An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing per ...

form of the Scottish Gaelic ''nighean-mhic'' which translates into English as "daughter of the son." Like the masculine form of the surname, ''NicLeòid'' no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father.

Anglicised forms

Anglicised forms of ''MacLeòid'', in use today, include ''

MacLeod MacLeod, McLeod and Macleod ( ) are surnames in the English language. The names are anglicised forms of the Scottish Gaelic ', meaning "son of Leòd", derived from the Old Norse ''Liótr'' ("ugly"). One of the earliest occurrences of the surnam ...

'', '' McCloud'', '' McLeod'', '' McLoud''. which cited: for the surnames "MacLeod", "McLeod", and "McLoud". Anglicised forms of ''Mac Leóid'' include ''MacLeod'', ''MacCleod'', and '' MacCloud''. According to late 19th-century Irish genealogist

John O'Hart John O'Hart (; 1824–1902) was an Irish historian and genealogist. He is noted for his work on ancient Irish lineage. He was born in Crossmolina, County Mayo, Ireland. A committed Roman Catholic and Irish nationalist, O'Hart had originally pl ...

, the English ''MacLeod'' is also an Anglicised form of the Irish ''

Mac Giolla Mochadha McGillicuddy ( or ') is a surname of Irish origin,, which is a transcription of: meaning "son of the servant of Mo Chutu of Lismore, St. Mochuda". A variant form of the name is Mac Giolla Mhochuda., which is a transcription of: Other Anglicised ...

'', which is

etymologically Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

unrelated to ''MacLeòid'' and ''Mac Leóid''.

Families

An early record of the surname is of Gillandres ''MacLeod'', in 1227. Gillandres was likely a member of a noted clerical family that descended from

Leod Leod (Scottish Gaelic: Leòd; Old Norse: Ljótr) ( 1200 – 1280) was the eponymous ancestor and founder of Clan MacLeod and Clan MacLeod of Lewis. Almost nothing is known about him and he does not appear in any contemporary records. Tradition ...

, a 12th-century 'abbot' of Brechin. The surname ''MacLeòid'', and its various Anglicised forms, have also been borne by members of Clan MacLeod, a once powerful

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

, seated on the west coast of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The leading branches of the clan are the MacLeods of MacLeod. who are seated on

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

; and the MacLeods of Lewis, who were historically seated on

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

. The MacLeods of Clan MacLeod derive their surname from

, a shadowy figure who does not appear in contemporary records, but is thought to have lived in the 13th century. The first members of the family to appear in contemporary records are

Malcolm MacLeod Malcolm MacLeod may refer to: *Malcolm MacLeod (clan chief), Scottish clan chief *Malcolm MacLeod (British Army officer) (1882–1969), British scientist and Director General of the Ordnance Survey from 1935 to 1943. *Malcolm MacLeod (politici ...

and Torquil MacLeod, who are recorded in a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in about the year 1343.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleoid Clan Macleod Scottish Gaelic masculine surnames Surnames of Scottish origin Patronymic surnames