McFarlane
A Scottish clan surname meaning “son of Bartholomew,” long associated with the Lennox and Loch Lomond.
The #3,795 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,131 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McFarlane is an anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Pharlain, usually explained as “son of Parlan” or “son of Pharlan.” Parlan is generally taken as a Gaelic form of Bartholomew, so the surname ultimately means “son of Bartholomew.” Historical writers also connect the name with older spellings such as MacPharland, MacFarland, and MacPartlan.
History
The name is strongly associated with Clan MacFarlane, traditionally placed in the Lennox district of western Scotland around Loch Lomond. One 19th-century source links the clan to a figure descended from the Earls of Lennox, while older traditions give a more romantic origin story; the scholarly consensus favors the Bartholomew-derived explanation. The surname later spread beyond Scotland through migration, especially to Ireland and North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The clan’s traditional badge is the cranberry, a detail preserved in later heraldic and clan-historical works.
From the historical record
“Patrick) McFarlane. Bartholomew’s son McGirr. From the Irish (short) McGlew. Irish clow (?) (wise) McGowan. From the Irish Gobha (a smith)”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)