Mac Scannláin is the name of a family that originated in what is now

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

in Ireland. Ballymascanlan, near Dundalk, is named after them. The name rarely bears the prefix nowadays, and is usually rendered Scallan, Scanlan or Scanlon. It is a variant of the name

Ó Scannail The surname Ó Scannail (English: Scannell) is both an ancient Irish name and a clan who were a sept of the Eóganachta. The name derives from the Irish word ''scannal'', originally meaning quarrel, contention, fight, or dispute. Etymology There a ...

derived from the Irish word ''scannal'', originally meaning quarrel, contention, fight, and later, scandal. There are three quite distinct septs or clans, the first and primary sept being the

(

Scannell Scannell is an Irish surname. People Notable people with the surname include: Acting * Brendan Scannell (born 1990), American actor and comedian * Susan Scannell (born 1958), American actress * Tony Scannell Thomas Anthony Scannell (14 Augu ...

) (originally Scannal), who belong to West Munster and specifically the Counties of Kerry,

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, and Limerick. The other two septs derived from Ó Scannail, and their descendants are now known as Scanlan and

Scanlon Scanlon is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Scannláin, meaning descendant of Scannlán’. Notable people with the name include: * Agnes Scanlon (1923–2018), American politician * Albert Scanlon (1935–2009), English soccer playe ...

. One sept is O'Scannlain of Munster and the other is MacScannláin of Oriel,

, neither of which has retained the prefix 0 or Mc in modern times. The widespread distribution of these names is indicated by the fact that there are six Ballyscanlans in Ireland as well as a Scanlansland and a Scanlan's Island. Two of these are in County Clare and one in Mayo, which lends colour to the statement that there was also a North Connacht Sept of O'Scanlan. https://www.irishsurnames.com/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?name=scanlon&capname=Scanlon&letter=s#:~:text=Scanlon%20Family%20History,-The%20family%20history&text=The%20variant%20of%20this%20name,or%20Mc%20in%20modern%20times.

References

* ''The Surnames of Ireland'', Edward MacLysaght, p. 17, Dublin, 1978, . Surnames of Irish origin Irish-language masculine surnames {{ireland-stub

See also

References