McCulloch
An old Scottish surname, probably from a Gaelic personal name meaning “hound” or “wolf-cub,” long associated especially with Galloway and the south of Scotland.
The #4,312 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,451 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken from a Gaelic personal name rather than from a trade or place-name. The usual explanation connects it with a Gaelic form related to "cu" meaning "hound" or, in some older explanations, a wolf-like name element; the first part is often compared with words for a youth or child, giving a sense such as “young hound” or a similar nickname-name. Nineteenth-century writers also treated it as an old Gaelic family name whose exact original form had become obscure.
History
The name is strongly associated with the ancient family of Galloway, which was already regarded in historical tradition as very old by the 19th century. Later surname distribution records place McCulloch especially in the southern half of Scotland. In modern use it is also found widely in the English-speaking diaspora, especially in North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century source described the McCullochs as an ancient Galloway family whose origin was already “lost in antiquity.”
From the historical record
“MACCULLOCH. ticular testimony which they had subscribed" at their license and ordination ; and on August 28, 1806, the four protesters, Messrs. M'Crie, Bruce, Hog, and Aitken, formed themselves into a presbytery, afterwards styled "The Constitution- al Associate Presbytery." Having thus dissolved their connection…”
— The Scottish Nation, vol. 2