Maclean

Meaning of Maclean

Maclean, a masculine given name of Scottish Gaelic provenance derived from the patronymic Mac Gille Eoin—literally “son of the servant of Saint John”—is inextricably linked to Highland clan heritage and specifically to the historic Clan Maclean of the Isle of Mull, whose martial legacy and ecclesiastical affiliations during the Jacobite period have imbued the name with disciplined fortitude; in its original Gaelic phonology it is articulated /məˈkleɪn/ (muh-KLAYN), whereas in Anglophone usage it typically assumes the variant /məˈkliːn/ (muh-KLEEN). From a statistical standpoint, its presence in the United States has remained consistently modest, with annual newborn registrations fluctuating between five and sixteen and a Social Security Administration ranking oscillating within the 700s to 900s since the late 1980s, a pattern indicative of selective adoption by parents seeking nomenclature that combines precise phonetic structure with deep historical gravitas.

Pronunciation

Scottish Gaelic

• Pronunced as muh-KLAYN (/məˈkleɪn/)

English

• Pronunced as muh-KLEEN (/məˈkliːn/)

• Mackay
• Macallister
• Macintyre
• Macgregor