McFarland
An Irish and Scottish surname usually connected with the Gaelic MacFarlane clan name, though older writers also proposed a link with Bartholomew.
The #835 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,476 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McFarland is an anglicized form of Gaelic MacFarlaine or MacFarlane, a clan surname. The name has been explained in more than one way: some sources connect it with a Gaelic personal name related to Bartholomew, while others treat it as a clan name built around a family ancestor. 19th-century writers also repeated a traditional story that tried to explain the name from a place called Farland, but that looks legendary rather than literal etymology.
History
The name is strongly associated with the Scottish Clan MacFarlane, historically linked with the Lennox district and later with the Highlands around Loch Lomond. In Irish records it also appears as an immigrant surname, especially in Ulster, where spellings such as MacFarlane and McFarland were both used. The surname spread widely through Scottish and Irish diaspora communities in Britain, North America, and beyond.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century source preserved a colorful folk tale that explained the name as coming from an island stronghold called Farland—but this is generally treated as a legend, not as solid history.
From the historical record
“Phaudeen, the son of little Patrick. McFARLAND. The son of Pharlan, or Partholan, the Gaelic for Bartholomew. Malcom McFarlane, descended from Alwyn, Earl of Lennox, founder of the clan McFarlane, lived about 1344, in the reign of Malcom IV., King of Scot- land. Tradition gives the following fabulous origin of the…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names