MACQUEEN
Recorded variant spellings include Mac Queen, Macqueen
The MacQueen surname is of Gaelic origin, belonging to the Celtic peoples of the British Isles. It is traditionally associated with Scotland, specifically the Gaelic-speaking islands of the Hebrides and the highland regions.
In the Gaelic language the element Mac denotes “son”. The personal name Suibhne – from the root suibh – means “pleasant” or “well‑disposed” and was used as a given name in early medieval Scotland. Hence, Mac Shuibhne translates literally to “son of Suibhne”, and this phrase has been the source of the surname.
Through the process of Anglicisation the original Gaelic forms have produced a range of spellings. These include McQueen, MacQuinn, MacSween, MacEwen and others. In castellated or phonetic forms the name appears in early records as M'Quhyn, M'Quhan, M'Quhen, Maquhon, Mc Quhenne, Mauchquhen and M'Kquyne. The pronunciation of the initial sh in Gaelic gives rise to a rendering such as Mac‑Hewen or Mac‑Wheen in some dialects.
The MacQueens are historically linked to an ancient Highland clan that operated in the region of the Scottish Highlands. The clan was also noted for its presence on the Isle of Skye, where the Norse personal name Sveinn – meaning “servant” or “young man” – is thought to have influenced the local version of the surname. Loyalty to larger clans, such as Clan Donald and Clan Mackintosh, was a feature of the MacQueen community during the period of clan rivalry.
Documentary evidence of the surname dates back to the early fourteenth century. A record from Aberdeen, dated 1403, names a certain Luke Mac Quyn. Earlier, in 1271, an inquest held at Dumbarton cites a person called Hector Mac Souhyn; later, on 28 October 1683, Dugald Mc Queen married Elizabeth Menzies in New Machar, Aberdeen. These references give an early illustration of the surname’s usage and its persistence in Scottish civil records.
In contemporary times the surname MacQueen continues to be most common in Scotland, with substantial populations in Northern Ireland, England and various Commonwealth countries. In the United States, the highest concentrations are found in the states of New York, Massachusetts and North Carolina, reflecting the migratory history of Scots abroad.
Thus, the MacQueen surname represents a linguistic and genealogical lineage that stretches from an ancient Gaelic personal name meaning “pleasant”, through the structural conventions of clan-based naming, to a modern surname that remains widely recognised across the world.
Typical given names associated with the MacQueen surname
Male
- Alexander
- Andrew
- David
- Donald
- Graham
- Ian
- James
- John
- Neil
- Peter
- Robert
Female
- Ann
- Catherine
- Dagmar
- Elizabeth
- Hannah
- Helen
- Jane
- Karen
- Kirsty
- Lynn
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sarah
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname MacQueen in...
Braille
⠍⠁⠉⠟⠥⠑⠑⠝
Morse
--.--.-.--.-..-..-.
Semaphore
There are approximately 1,100 people named MacQueen in the UK. That makes it roughly the 6,851st most common surname in Britain. Around 17 in a million people in Britain are named MacQueen.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named MacQueen
- Harry Macqueen - Actor
- John Macqueen - Doctor and medical administrator in Palestine during the British Mandate (1895 to 1969)
- Eilidh MacQueen - Actress
- Alexander MacQueen - Former first-class cricketer
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.