McQueen
A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Queen/Quinn,” often linked to the Gaelic name Suibhne (Sweeney).
The #1,814 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,625 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually explained as a Gaelic patronymic built on Mac, meaning “son of,” plus a personal name that was later written as Queen, Quain, or Quinn. Several 19th-century sources connect it with Gaelic Suibhne, the source of Sweeney, and with Irish Cuinn/Conn traditions that also underlie Quinn. One older dictionary even glosses it as “the son of Owen,” but that explanation is not the one most modern scholarship follows.
History
The surname is especially associated with Scotland, where it is well attested in the Highlands and in places such as Galloway and Inverness. In Irish and Scottish records it appears alongside related forms such as MacQuin, MacQuain, Quinn, and Sweeney, showing how Gaelic names were reshaped into English spellings over time. The form McQueen became established in Anglophone records and later spread widely through migration to North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
An early Scottish source notes MacQueen as a common Galloway surname, showing that it was already well known there by the 19th century.
From the historical record
“Guaire was son of Alpin, King of Scotland. McQUEEN. That is, McOwen, the son of Owen. Originally McSweene. 108 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY McWILLIAM. The son of William. (See William.) McWITHY. The son of the weaver, from the G-aelic Mac, a son, and guithe, Cor. Br., a weaver. In the Welsh, gwehydd, a weaver, quethy…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names