MCMEEKIN
Recorded variant spellings include Mc Meekin, Mcmeekin
McMeekin is a surname of distinctly Gaelic origin, principally linked to the Scottish Highlands and, to a lesser extent, to Ireland. The name derives from the patronymic construction Mac meaning “son of,” followed by a personal name that itself carries a descriptive epithet.
In one line of tradition the surname is formed from Mac Mhic Eoghain, literally “son of the son of Eoghan.” The personal name Eoghan is cognate with the English Eugene and is translated as “born of the yew tree.” This rendering emphasises the matrilineal ancestry that the double patronymic implies, pointing to an ancestor named Eoghan whose own line had already been established within the clan structure.
A second, widely accepted derivation traces the root to Mac Miadhachain, a diminutive of miadhach meaning “honourable.” The literal translation is therefore “son of the honourable one.” This sense of the name is consonant with the common practice in medieval Gaelic societies of naming a chief or prominent clan member with a laudatory personal epithet, whose descendants would then inherit the patronymic.
The earliest known record of a name that would later become McMeekin appears in the charter book of the abbey of St. Mary of Melrose in 1185, where a witness named Gillecrist Mak Makin – a possible early form – is listed. This date places the surname firmly in the late twelfth century, during the reign of King William the Lion of Scotland. Subsequent medieval documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries provide further attestations: in 1496 Jenette filia Makmechum is recorded as selling land in the parish of Kirkmabreck, and in 1513 Alexander McMychin (also spelt Makmechane) appears in a list of criminal trials. These records demonstrate that the surname was in active use throughout the Lowlands and the western isles.
Geographically, the name has concentrated in Scotland’s western regions, particularly in Argyllshire and the area traditionally associated with Dál Riata, the ancient Gaelic kingdom that covered much of the western isles. In Ireland, the surname is most commonly found in the province of Northern Ireland, especially in Ulster, where large numbers of Scots settled during the Plantation of Ulster. The migration of McMeekin bearers continued into the modern era, and the surname now occurs, though sparsely, in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, reflecting the wider Scottish diasporic movement.
Because of phonetic variations and the transliteration of Gaelic sounds into English orthography, the surname has accumulated a broad range of spellings. Common forms include McMeekin, McMeeken, McMeikan, McMeekan, McMeeking, and their variants prefixed with Mac (e.g. MacMeekin, MacMeeken, MacMeekan). Shorter or more anglicised versions such as Meekin, Meakins, or MacMeekon also appear sporadically in parish registers and census lists. The multiplicity of forms can present challenges for genealogical research but ultimately points to a single etymological source.
In contemporary usage, McMeekin remains a relatively uncommon surname. Statistical surveys of the United Kingdom’s surname distribution indicate that it is not a common name, and it is considered reasonably rare. The scarcity of the name, combined with its clear Gaelic heritage, gives it a distinct identity within both Scottish and Irish genealogy circles.
Typical given names associated with the McMeekin surname
Male
- Alexander
- Andrew
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Agnes
- Anne
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Fiona
- Gladys
- Greta
- Helen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
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 McMeekin in...
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Morse
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There are approximately 819 people named McMeekin in the UK. That makes it roughly the 8,619th most common surname in Britain. Around 13 in a million people in Britain are named McMeekin.
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 McMeekin
- Chris McMeekin -
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.