McMillan
A Scottish and Irish surname usually understood as “son of the bald or tonsured one.”
The #860 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,673 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained from Gaelic Mac Mhaoilein or a related form, meaning “son of Maolán” or “son of the bald/t tonsured one.” The Gaelic element maol means “bald,” and by extension could describe a shaven head, tonsure, or a person devoted to religion. In older surname scholarship, the name is often linked with a descriptive nickname rather than a literal given name.
History
The name is best known in Scotland, especially in the Highlands, and it also appears in Ireland, where similar Gaelic forms were adapted into McMillan and related spellings. Older writers sometimes glossed it rather loosely, but the broad idea of a Gaelic patronymic built on maol is consistent across the tradition. The surname has become widely established in the English-speaking world through migration from Scotland and Ireland.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Gaelic root maol appears in several other surnames and place-names, often with the sense of a shaved or tonsured head.
From the historical record
“Mullen, MacMullin, Mac Mullon,MacMillan, MacMillen, MacBlain, Mullin, Mullins, &c. rriAc niAolcoltiim, Malcolmson,”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnames