Maclean or MacLean

[T-Bone]

That's what I thought. I figured that it had much to do with emmigration.

[JSFMACLJR]

Jo Currie, in her short book, “MacLeans: A Biographical Dictionary of Mull People”, explains what I have said: spelling doesn’t matter! The following quotation, while mentioning specifically the Maclaines of Lochbuie, shows that all spellings of the great surname are correct.

"Since most records were entered by a schoolmaster, session clerk, or some such neutral scribe, it was his spelling, and not that of the subject which was used. Maclean can fluctuate between half a dozen spellings in the history of one family. Generally speaking, the spelling Maclaine or McLaine is associated with the Lochbuy estate, and when found in other areas often suggests a refugee from Lochbuy lands. Certain families in the early 19th century insisted on this spelling, but after 1850 gave it up and reverted to mcLean, which increasingly became MacLean, as all kinds of pedantic nonsense was written about the correctness of Mc or Mac. Their apostasy reflects the diminishing importance of the family of Lochbuy, or a wish for simplicity. People who emigrated in the 18th century with the name McLane, McLaine or Maclaine do not have to seek Lochbuy explanations. There would then be no significance in the spelling, for even the Maclaines of Lochbuy spelt their name in nine different ways. But those emigrating between 1800 and 1850 whith these spellings might have good reason to suppose that they came from Torosay parish and should be very wary if they hear a headless horseman galloping by (an intimation that there would be a Lochbuy death).

Every Maclean today, regardless of the spelling of the name today, should entertain all possible spellings in the past."

[xman]

Of the extant signatures, Shakespeare never signed his own name the same way twice.

It was much the same with Christopher Marlowe, in fact he even wrote his name as Marley a few times. This was just how it was and some of that persists only now we have become more rigid about maintaining a specific variation of some spelling while other branches of the same family will rigidly maintain a different spelling.

[Graham A. Robieson]

Hello & Greetings,

Mac (Son of) was applied to the first name e.g. Donald has a son Duncan, so Duncan would be named MacDonald - SonofDonald or lowland version Donaldson, (Yes I am aware of Highland Clans with son at the end of there names, however I am talking origins.) history of Mac/son etc. is the cross between Celtic Gaelic Language and Viking Norse Language, Vikings introduced the term son at the end of a surname/there fathers first name etc. e.g. Donaldson, Donaldsson, Donaldsen, Donaldssen, just like Ericson, Ericsson, Ericsen, Ericssen, Eriksen, Erikssen etc. Vikings from southern Denmark, northern Germany, and Scandanavia etc even to this day still use names like that, son came with the Anglo-Saxons, and often referred to as lowland names, Highland Gaelic applied Mac, but also for e.g. MacLeod a viking name with Gaelic applied meaning (SonoftheKing), which Vikings settled and a mixture of culture and language showed viking intergration, cause vikings settled in Ireland aswell, that's how Dublin exists and places like Swansea in Wales (Sven Sea/Sven's Sea) etc.

Mac was also shortened to make Mc, M. but with the small c placed at the top of the M and perhaps with a small dot underneath, short hand of the name and not all highlanders were able to write their names, how the name is spelt doesn't matter cause people who couldn't write their name, left it up to those who could write and so comes with many versions of e.g. MacLeod, MacCloud, McCloud, MacLoude, McLoude etc. MacLeod, Macleod, however you choose to write it, it still sounds the same, and I know only those who write there surnames with the captial letter here in Scotland, also MacLean, Maclean to refer to MacLean with the captial L applied as lowland is incorrect if it were it would have been written as Leanson, Leansson, Laineson, Lainesson, Lainson, Lainsson etc.

Highland Gaelic, Lowland Scots, Viking Norse, all have an effect on the spelling and pronoucation of surnames in Scotland. Every where else, English is applied to best represent the sounding of the name, that's how MacLeod ended up being spelt as MacCloud, of which is still carried around to this day e.g. Kevin McCloud (presenter for the Channel4s Grand Designs programme) and many other versions etc.

Here's a link:

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv...kevin-mccloud/


Another note: in my family history, my Great-Great Grand Father's middle name was McFarlane with the small c placed further up at the top of the M, with the captial F, that was before the statutory recording of births, deaths and marriages came in to effect during the 1850s.
At present I am still researching my family tree, and have made many interesting discoveries and I still have many more to make.


I hope this info sheds some more light on the subject,


All the best,


Graham.

[Lyle1]

Literacy is a rather recent development. As some one mentioned in an earlier post, the spelling used in historical records most likely reflects what the scribe thought was appropriate; the named person probably did not even know how to spell his own name, be he peasant or noble. Add to that the fact that most records were recorded in Latin, not Celtic, and you have even more confusion. I see lots of examples in my own family tree where spelling was not consistent from generation to generation or even among siblings of the same generation. This is not unique to the Scots, I see it in all of my branches, though the Germans seem to be the most consistent group, except in the case of some Italian ancestors who settled in Germany after the Thirty Years War. Italian names really confused the Germans.

[Riverkilt]

My three great grandfather John Gray Macdonald was a literate man. He often translated letters from home into Gaelic for his neighbors then wrote their letter back home in Gaelic for them.

If officials spelled his name wrong, he still didn't change it. He knew the "correct" spelling and passed that on to his son and grandson who, in turn, passed it on down.

Yes, official records are often spelled incorrectly - but literate families didn't adopt the errors, they preserved what they knew to be correct - whatever that was to them.

[T-Bone]

This is great info.

My great grandmother was a Maclean. From what I've been told, she pronounced it mac'lane.

[ForresterModern]

Regarding Ellis Island as it relates to Scots/Scots-Irish in America:

Ellis Island probably played only a minute part in the Scots and Scots Irish immigrations to the US, if any. Until 1892 Ellis Island had been a sometimes staffed, sometimes abandoned military base, that was later expanded and amalgamated to its current landmass by landfill (moslty from constuction projects elsewhere in the area). Prior to 1892 most NYC immigration was administered in one or more of several land based centers around the city. With passage of significant immigration legislation by the federal government in 1892 Ellis Island became the major east coast immigration center we all have heard stories about, but that lasted only until about 1924 (yes only about 32 years) whereupon its immigration duties diminished significantly and it became primarily a center for detention and deportation for immigration related cases, until its ultimate closure in 1954. Millions of new americans were processed through Ellis island in its 32 year boon, but these were mostly of eastern and southern european origin, and a significant irish population. Although statements about half of Americans being able to trace at least one relative to the Ellis Island immigration route may be true, I think that is more likely due to huge numbers of immigrants processed through there and the subsequent breadth of intercultural marriages that have occurred in the years since.

Considering most of the Scots and Scots Irish waves of immigrants occurred before, during and in the 100 years after the American Revolutionary War, it is unlikely that most of Scots or Scots-Irish ancestry had their line come through Ellis Island, although more likely that those who did have actual records of those (relatively recent) immigrations, compared to those of us whose families came in the preceding waves before (1635 in my case), as complete records either were never kept in those earlier days, or, in the case of thosee who ended up in Confederate states during the Civil War, were destroyed as a result of that war and lost to history forever. But most Scots were already here long before Ellis Island ever opened or closed its doors. They just either haven't, can't trace their ancestry that many generations back to their original immigrant ancestors, or aren't particularly interested in doing so.

One man's opinion.

We now return you to your regular programming. Sorry for the temporary threadjack.

jeff

[macwilkin]

Regarding Ellis Island as it relates to Scots/Scots-Irish in America:

Ellis Island probably played only a minute part in the Scots and Scots Irish immigrations to the US, if any. Until 1892 Ellis Island had been a sometimes staffed, sometimes abandoned military base, that was later expanded and amalgamated to its current landmass by landfill (moslty from constuction projects elsewhere in the area). Prior to 1892 most NYC immigration was administered in one or more of several land based centers around the city. With passage of significant immigration legislation by the federal government in 1892 Ellis Island became the major east coast immigration center we all have heard stories about, but that lasted only until about 1924 (yes only about 32 years) whereupon its immigration duties diminished significantly and it became primarily a center for detention and deportation for immigration related cases, until its ultimate closure in 1954. Millions of new americans were processed through Ellis island in its 32 year boon, but these were mostly of eastern and southern european origin, and a significant irish population. Although statements about half of Americans being able to trace at least one relative to the Ellis Island immigration route may be true, I think that is more likely due to huge numbers of immigrants processed through there and the subsequent breadth of intercultural marriages that have occurred in the years since.

Considering most of the Scots and Scots Irish waves of immigrants occurred before, during and in the 100 years after the American Revolutionary War, it is unlikely that most of Scots or Scots-Irish ancestry had their line come through Ellis Island, although more likely that those who did have actual records of those (relatively recent) immigrations, compared to those of us whose families came in the preceding waves before (1635 in my case), as complete records either were never kept in those earlier days, or, in the case of thosee who ended up in Confederate states during the Civil War, were destroyed as a result of that war and lost to history forever. But most Scots were already here long before Ellis Island ever opened or closed its doors. They just either haven't, can't trace their ancestry that many generations back to their original immigrant ancestors, or aren't particularly interested in doing so.

One man's opinion.

We now return you to your regular programming. Sorry for the temporary threadjack.

jeff

Spot on, Jeff. Most Scots-Irish came through Philadelphia in the early to mid 1700s.

T.

[ThistleDown]

Regarding Ellis Island as it relates to Scots/Scots-Irish in America:

Ellis Island probably played only a minute part in the Scots and Scots Irish immigrations to the US, if any. Until 1892 Ellis Island had been a sometimes staffed, sometimes abandoned military base, that was later expanded and amalgamated to its current landmass by landfill (moslty from constuction projects elsewhere in the area). Prior to 1892 most NYC immigration was administered in one or more of several land based centers around the city. With passage of significant immigration legislation by the federal government in 1892 Ellis Island became the major east coast immigration center we all have heard stories about, but that lasted only until about 1924 (yes only about 32 years) whereupon its immigration duties diminished significantly and it became primarily a center for detention and deportation for immigration related cases, until its ultimate closure in 1954. Millions of new americans were processed through Ellis island in its 32 year boon, but these were mostly of eastern and southern european origin, and a significant irish population. Although statements about half of Americans being able to trace at least one relative to the Ellis Island immigration route may be true, I think that is more likely due to huge numbers of immigrants processed through there and the subsequent breadth of intercultural marriages that have occurred in the years since.

Considering most of the Scots and Scots Irish waves of immigrants occurred before, during and in the 100 years after the American Revolutionary War, it is unlikely that most of Scots or Scots-Irish ancestry had their line come through Ellis Island, although more likely that those who did have actual records of those (relatively recent) immigrations, compared to those of us whose families came in the preceding waves before (1635 in my case), as complete records either were never kept in those earlier days, or, in the case of thosee who ended up in Confederate states during the Civil War, were destroyed as a result of that war and lost to history forever. But most Scots were already here long before Ellis Island ever opened or closed its doors. They just either haven't, can't trace their ancestry that many generations back to their original immigrant ancestors, or aren't particularly interested in doing so.

One man's opinion.

We now return you to your regular programming. Sorry for the temporary threadjack.

jeff

Thanks, Jeff, that's a superb explanation. We are not taught that much detail, though we do get a fairly fine overview of American history. That's not unlike the absence of Scots' history in your own curriculum, I suppose. In just two paragraphs you cleared up many misconceptions about Ellis Island.

Rex