__NOTOC__ MacColl 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 ...

from the Scottish Gaelic ”''MacColla''”, meaning "Son of Coll" shared by several notable people: ;Born after 1800 *

Evan MacColl (Gaelic poet) Evan MacColl ( gd, "Eòghann MacColla"; 1808–1898) was a Scottish-born bilingual poet in both Canadian Gaelic and Canadian English. He is commonly known in his native language as Bàrd Loch Fìne (the "Poet of Loch Fyne"). Later he became know ...

(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 Highland family that was at least partly Gaelic-speaking. Hugh's father died w ...

(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 Glenfin ...

(1838–1907), British clergyman and publicist *

Dugald Sutherland MacColl Dugald Sutherland MacColl (10 March 1859 – 21 December 1948) was a Scottish watercolour painter, art critic, lecturer and writer. He was keeper of the Tate Gallery for five years. Life MacColl was born in Glasgow and educated at the Univ ...

(1859–1948), Scottish painter and writer ;Born after 1900 *

James MacColl James Eugene MacColl (27 June 1908 – 17 June 1971) was a British Labour politician. He was the younger son of Hugo MacColl, a master marine engineer. At the age of 12 he was orphaned. MacColl was educated at Sedbergh School and Balliol Colleg ...

(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 folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

(born 'Miller', 1915–1989), British singer-songwriter, actor and playwright ;Born after 1950 * Catriona MacColl (born 1954), English film and television actress * Kirsty MacColl (1959–2000), British singer-songwriter with several top-10 singles on the UK and Irish music charts *

Mary-Rose MacColl Mary-Rose MacColl (born 1961) is an Australian novelist. MacColl's first novel, ''No Safe Place'', was shortlisted for the 1995 Australian/Vogel Literary Award. In the 2016 Queensland Literary Awards, she won The Courier-Mail People’s Choice ...

(born 1961), Australian novelist *

Angus MacColl Angus MacColl is a Scottish bagpipe player. Life He was born in Benderloch, near Oban, and initially learnt the pipes from his father. MacColl is descended from a number of famous pipers, including John MacColl. His son Angus J. MacColl is al ...

, scottish bagpiper from Benderloch (Oban), who won Gold Medals at both the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering, and the Glenfiddich Championship four times. 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 fa ...

, perhaps and spelled without

CamelCase Camel case (sometimes stylized 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. The format indicates the separation of words with a single ...

, i.e. as "Maccoll".

Origin and Clan MacColl

The surname 'MacColl' has its origin in a Scottish clan by the name of Clan MacColl, which had a historical association with the

sea loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...

Loch Fyne,located in the modern day unitary council area of Argyll and Bute. Clan MacColl is considered by some to be a branch of

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

(MacDonald) based on several lines of evidence including a shared badge ( 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 Highland Scottish clan 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''. The Celtic church allowed pries ...

. 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, Kirsty MacColl.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. * Janua ...

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

and

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

, 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 City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

by 1880, and had spread, albeit thinly, to the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

by 1920.

Meanwhile, according to

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** 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 Africa ...

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 and London.

Origin and Clan MacColl

Distribution

References

See also