MacAskill, also spelt Macaskill, is a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. It is an

Anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

of the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

''Mac Asgaill'', meaning "son of ''Asgall''". The Gaelic name ''Asgall'' is a reduced form of the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

''Ásketill'', son of Torquil. Asketil was the last Viking King of Dublin, Ireland. He died circa 1171-2, resisting the English invaders of Ireland under King Henry II. He had placed his family under the protection of the Norse King of Man, and his grandson, Gilbert MacAsgaill, led a party sent by the King of Man to occupy and hold Dunscaith Castle, on the Sleat Peninsula, Isle of Skye. These are the first members of the name we can find in Scotland. The name is borne by a noted family on

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o 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 b ...

, the MacAskills of

Rubha an Dùnain Rubha an Dùnain or Rubh' an Dùnain () is an uninhabited peninsula to the south of the Cuillin hills on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It contains unique archaeological sites which in 2017 were designated as a Historic Monument of national impo ...

, who historically followed the MacLeods of Dunvegan, possibly serving them as early as the fourteenth century (although documentation is lacking). In Gaelic the MacAskills are known as ''Clann t-Ascaill'', and ''Clann t-Asgaill''. In

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

, the surname is rendered ''MacAsgaill''. In

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, the surname is rendered ''Mac Ascaill''. Early forms of the name on record in Scotland are ''Mackaiscail'' (in 1766), ''Mackaiscal'' (in 1769), and ''Macaiskill'' (in 1790). An early form of the name in England is ''Mac Askil'' (in 1311). Notable persons with the name include: *

Angus MacAskill Angus MacAskill (1825 – 8 August 1863) was a Scottish-born Canadian giant. In its 1981 edition the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' stated he was the strongest man who ever lived, the tallest non- pathological giant in recorded history, the ...

(1825–1863), Scottish born Canadian giant Gael, the tallest non-pathological giant and the strongest man who ever lived according to the Guinness book of world records *

Claire McCaskill Claire Conner McCaskill (; born July 24, 1953) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Missouri from 2007 to 2019 and as State Auditor of Missouri from 1999 to 2007. McCaskill is a native of Rolla, Missouri. She gr ...

(born 1953), American politician from Missouri *

Danny MacAskill Daniel "Danny" MacAskill is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He works professionally as a street trials / mountain bike rider for Santa Cruz Bicycles. In April 2009, he released a five-minute street trials video t ...

(born 1985), Scottish stunt cyclist *

Dianne Macaskill Dianne Mary Macaskill is a New Zealand public servant. She was the Chief Executive and Chief Archivist of Archives New Zealand. She started in this role on 11 June 2001 and finished her term on 10 June 2009.Glenn Macaskill, Zimbabwean-South African writer *

Ishbel MacAskill Isabella Margaret MacAskill (née MacIver, 14 March 1941 – 31 March 2011) was a heritage activist and Music of Scotland#Folk music, traditional Scottish Gaelic singer and teacher, often referred to as the "Gaelic diva". Early life She was born ...

(1941–2011), Scottish singer * J. D. McAskill (1907–1994), Canadian educator and politician *

Kenny MacAskill Kenneth Wright MacAskill (born 28 April 1958) is a Scottish politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian since 2019. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014 and was a Member of the Scottish ...

(born 1958), Scottish politician *

Klara MacAskill Klara MacAskill (born December 31, 1964, in Budapest) is a Hungarian-born, Canadian sprint kayaker who competed in the early to mid-1990s. Accomplishments MacAskill won a bronze medal in the K-4 200 m event at the 1994 ICF Canoe Sprint W ...

(born 1964), Hungarian-Canadian sprint canoer *

Ewen MacAskill Ewen MacAskill (born 1951)Bryan Burrough, Sarah Ellison and Suzanna Andrew"The Snowden Saga: A Shadowland of Secrets and Light" ''Vanity Fair'', May 2014 is a Scottish journalist. He worked for 22 years on ''The Guardian'', ending his career in ...

(born 1952), Scottish journalist *

William MacAskill William David MacAskill (; born 24 March 1987) is a Scottish philosopher and author, as well as one of the originators of the effective altruism movement. He is an Associate Professor in Philosophy and Research Fellow at the Global Priorities ...

(born 1987), Scottish philosopher and author * W. R. Macaskill (1887–1956), Canadian photographer

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* * * * * * * * {{surname Anglicised Scottish Gaelic-language surnames English-language surnames Scottish surnames

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