__NOTOC__ MacColl is a

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 ...

from the

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 ...

”''MacColla''”, meaning "Son of

Coll Coll (; )Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull and northeast of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and fo ...

" shared by several notable people: ;Born after 1800 * Evan MacColl (Gaelic poet) (1808–1898), Scots-Canadian Gaelic poet *

Hugh MacColl Hugh MacColl (before April 1885 spelled as Hugh McColl; 1831–1909) was a Scottish mathematician, logician and novelist. Life MacColl was the youngest son of a poor Scottish Highlands, Highland family that was at least partly Scottish Gaelic, ...

(1837–1909), Scottish logician and author *

Malcolm MacColl Malcolm MacColl (27 March 1831 – 5 April 1907) was a Scottish cleric and publicist, noted for his views on Islam and the Eastern Question. Early life MacColl was a native Scots Gaelic speaker, the son of a poor crofter or labourer in Glenfinna ...

(1838–1907), British clergyman and publicist *

Dugald Sutherland MacColl Dugald Sutherland MacColl (10 March 1859 – 21 December 1948) was a Scottish Watercolor painting, watercolour painter, art critic, lecturer and writer. He was keeper of the Tate Britain, Tate Gallery for five years. Life MacColl was born i ...

(1859–1948), Scottish painter and writer ;Born after 1900 * James MacColl (1908–1971), British Member of Parliament *

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as o ...

(born 'Miller', 1915–1989), British singer-songwriter, actor and playwright ;Born after 1950 *

Catriona MacColl Catriona MacColl (born 3 October 1954) is an English actress who has worked extensively in both film and television across Europe. She is best known for her work in Italian horror films, as she has appeared in Lucio Fulci's ''Gates of Hell'' tr ...

(born 1954), English film and television actress *

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (, ; 10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter. The daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl, she recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop ...

(1959–2000), British singer-songwriter with several top-10 singles on the UK and Irish music charts * Mary-Rose MacColl (born 1961), Australian novelist * Angus MacColl, Scottish bagpipe player MacColl is also apparently an uncommon male Scottish

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

, perhaps and spelled without

CamelCase The writing format camel case (sometimes stylized autologically as camelCase or CamelCase, also known as camel caps or more formally as medial capitals) is the practice of writing phrases without spaces or punctuation and with capitalized wor ...

, i.e. as "Maccoll".

Origin and Clan MacColl

The surname 'MacColl' has its origin in a

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 ...

by the name of Clan MacColl, which had a historical association with the

sea loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

Loch Fyne Loch Fyne (, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal, Cowal Peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound o ...

, located in the modern day unitary council area of

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

. Clan MacColl is considered by some to be a branch of

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald or Clan McDonald ( ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs a ...

(MacDonald) based on several lines of evidence including a shared

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fir ...

( sprig of heather). In the year 1602, Clan MacColl lost most of their military force in a battle with

Clan MacPherson Clan Macpherson ( , ) is a Scottish clan from the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and a member of the Chattan Confederation. History Origins The Scottish Gaelic surname for Macpherson is ''Mac a' Phearsain'' which means ''son of the parson''. ...

. Additional lines of MacColls exist, though not all are of Scottish Highland clan origin. For instance, folk singer and political activist James Henry Miller changed his name to

for stage purposes. His children assumed the stage name, and there is a third generation of these MacColls through the children of his daughter,

.This passage is a synthesis from information available in the linked biographical articles.

Distribution

According to United States Census data from

1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janu ...

1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...

and

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

, the MacColl surname was not recorded as present in the United States in 1840, was found only in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

by 1880, and had spread, albeit thinly, to the West Coast by 1920.

Meanwhile, according to

1891 Events January * January 1 ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories. * January 4 – The Earl of Zetland issues a ...

census date from England and Wales, MacColls were found in five counties in the north and east of England, with the greatest number identified in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Origin and Clan MacColl

Distribution

References

See also