MACTAGGART
Recorded variant spellings include Mac Taggart, Mactaggart
MacTaggart is a surname of Gaelic origin, dating back to the early medieval period in Scotland. The name is derived from the Gaelic phrase Mac an t-Sagairt, meaning “son of the priest”, and indicates a line of descent from a cleric or priestly family.
The earliest records of the surname appear in the northern Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, where MacTaggart families were associated with the MacTaggart clan and were part of larger kinship groups such as Clan Chattan and Clan Mackintosh. The clan’s heraldic records show that they participated in significant conflicts, including the battle of Perth in 1715 and the Battle of Culloden in 1745, the last major engagement fought on British soil.
Outside Scotland, the surname is common in Ireland, where it is often anglicised as McTaggart. Concentrations of the name can be found in County Antrim and County Down. In the Australasian colonies, the surname became established with settlers who carried the name across the Atlantic and Pacific, and it has remained a recognised surname in Australia to the present day.
Several variants of the surname have evolved over time, all stemming from the same Gaelic root. These include MacTaggert, McTaggart, and Mactaggart, as well as less frequent spellings such as MacTaggar and MacTager. Each of these forms retains the original patronymic meaning while reflecting regional orthographic preferences.
One notable figure bearing the surname was John McTaggart, who served as the inaugural Labor premier of South Australia in the early years of the colony. His political career underscores the spread of the surname and its integration into public life in the colonies.
Overall, the MacTaggart surname continues to be recognised across Scotland, Ireland, and Australia, and it remains a tangible link to the Gaelic tradition of clan identity and patronymic naming.
Typical given names associated with the MacTaggart surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- Angus
- Clement
- David
- Douglas
- Iain
- Ian
- James
- John
- Robert
- Robin
- Ross
- William
Female
- Ann
- Anne
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Fiona
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Susan
- Victoria
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 MacTaggart in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 549 people named MacTaggart in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around eight in a million people in Britain are named MacTaggart.
Famous people named MacTaggart
- Fiona Mactaggart - Politician
- James MacTaggart - Television producer (1928 to 1974)
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.