MCPARLAND
Recorded variant spellings include Mc Parland, Mcparland
The surname McParland is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic personal name Mac Pharlain, which translates literally as “son of Parlan.” The element Parlan is believed to be a diminutive of the Gaelic word parthalán, meaning “ploughman” or “tiller of the soil,” indicating that the early bearers of the name were likely associated with agricultural work.
Historical accounts reveal that the name Mac Pharlain subsequently adopted an additional layer of meaning through its connection with the Latinised name Bartholomaeus, the equivalent of Bartholomew in English. The root of Bartholomew can be traced to the Aramaic patronymic bar‑Talmay, signifying “son of Talmay,” a personal name that itself means “one having many furrows.” This linguistic link explains why some later genealogical sources describe McParland as “son of Bartholomew.”
The surname is recorded in a number of variations, including MacFarlan, MacFarland, MacFarlane, MacParland, MacParlin, MacPharlain, MacPartlin, MacPartling and the more concise forms that begin with “Mc” or omit the prefix entirely, such as Farlane and Parland. These spellings appear in medieval Scottish and Irish documents, reflecting the fluid orthographic practices of the time.
Early documentary evidence places the name in Scotland during the late fourteenth century. The first recorded spelling is that of Malcolm McPharlane, dated to around 1385, where he is listed as a witness in the “Highland Papers” issued under King Robert XI of Scotland. Other early references include Duncan Malcolm Makfarlane who received a charter from the Earl of Levenaux in 1395, and Andrew M'Farlane, admitted as a burgess of Glasgow in 1577.
In Ireland, the surname appeared prominently in the provinces of Ulster, especially within the counties of Armagh, Tyrone and Down. A poet named Diarmuid McParthalain is known to have lived in the mid‑fifteenth century, while a later marriage record from 1808 lists Robert MacFarlane and Margery Anderson of Dungannon, County Tyrone.
The distribution of McParland today remains strongest in Northern Ireland, in line with its historical concentration in Ulster. Nevertheless, the Irish diaspora has carried the name to the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. Variants such as McFarland, McPartland, McParlan, MacParland, MacParlan, McParlin, MacPearlan and McPerland are found in immigration records, often shaped by the phonetic conventions of the receiving country.
As a patronymic surname, McParland exemplifies the ancient Irish system of deriving family names from the given name of a patriarch. The persistence of the name, despite its many spellings, reflects a deep connection to Ireland’s cultural heritage and the endurance of hereditary naming traditions through centuries of social change.
Typical given names associated with the McParland surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Daniel
- James
- John
- Kevin
- Michael
- Patrick
- Paul
- Peter
- Thomas
Female
- Ann
- Anne
- Brenda
- Catherine
- Christine
- Corrin
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Kathleen
- Louise
- Margaret
- Marian
- Mary
- Patricia
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 McParland in...
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There are approximately 934 people named McParland in the UK. That makes it roughly the 7,768th most common surname in Britain. Around 14 in a million people in Britain are named McParland.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named McParland
- Peter McParland - Northern Irish football player and manager
- Ian McParland - Scottish football player and manager
- Davie McParland - Scottish football player and manager (1935 to 2018)
- Anthony McParland - Scottish football player
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.