Surname Mac Niell - Meaning and Origin
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Mac Niell: What does the surname Mac Niell mean?
The last name Mac Niell can be found throughout Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Generally accepted as being an anglicization of the Gaelic name Mac Néill, Mac Niell is derived from the Gaelic words mac, meaning "son of” and Niall, a Celtic/Gaelic first name which translates as "champion".
Niall was a popular early Irish King who reigned over the high kingship of all Ireland from the mid-4th to the mid-5th century and some sources indicate that he was a descendent of an older pagan Irish god. In some versions, Niall is also associated with the Saint Patrick legend.
From the Middle Ages, the name Mac Niell was borne by numerous leaders of Scotland and Ireland. Eventually, people in different parts of Ireland and Scotland adopted the Mac Niell surname, which led to its spread beyond its original geographic area.
In modern times, the last name Mac Niell is most closely associated with Scotland and the Isle of Man. It can be found with various spellings, including MacNeil, MacNeill and MacNeille. It is also occasionally found in areas of North America with large populations of Scots, Irish or Manx people.
The name Mac Niell is steeped in history and tradition, representing a proud and strong heritage that continues to be celebrated by those in Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man with the last name today.
Order DNA origin analysisMac Niell: Where does the name Mac Niell come from?
The last name Mac Niell is most commonly found in areas with Celtic ancestry, such as the British Isles and parts of Europe. It may also be found in other areas of the world that experienced emigration from Celtic-speaking countries in the past, such as the United States and Canada.
In the United Kingdom, the highest concentrations of the surname Mac Niell are in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The name is more than four times as likely to be found in these areas than in anywhere else in the United Kingdom. The name is especially prevalent in the region of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. The highest concentration of a closely related spelling, McNeill, is in the parish of Kilmurnock in Scotland.
In Ireland, the two areas where the surname is most common are counties Donegal and Galway. It is also frequent in some counties of Northern Ireland, particularly Antrim.
North America is also home to a fair number of Mac Niells, likely due to the relatively large migration of people of Irish descent in the 1800s. In the United States, the last name is mostly found in the eastern half of the country. Some of the states where the name is most prevalent are Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
Since the Celtic-speaking countries of Europe have contributed to the number of migrants from Ireland and Scotland in countries across the world, the surname Mac Niell could now be found in many different countries.
Variations of the surname Mac Niell
Mac Niell is a Scottish surname of Gaelic origin, which was later Anglicized after mass migration of Scots to other countries in the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the main variants of the surname is Mac Neill, with other spellings being MacNeill, MacNeal, MacNeil and MacKniell.
Other surnames with the same origin are MacNeillie, MacNelly, MacNeilson, McNeely, MacAnally, MacNally, McNail and McNace. All of these spellings stem from the same initial Gaelic form of Mac Néill, which translates to son of Neill.
The Gaelic name Neill is derived from the Old Irish personal name Niall, which was popular between the 5th and 10th centuries. The modern Irish spelling of the name is Ó Niall, with variants Ó Neal, Ó Neill and Ó Neachtáin. It has most likely descended from the pre-Christian king of Ireland, Niall of the Nine Hostages.
The origin of the name is uncertain, but other variants stem from “neol” in Old Irish, which means “cloud”. It was popular throughout Scotland during the Middle Ages, and was later adopted by English-speaking settlers.
The default anglicised form of the name is Neil, and the variants include Neal, Neilson, and Nelson. Other foreign variants such as O’Neill, Neill and Ney are more common in the US.
The Scottish clan of the name was traditionally associated with the Hebridean island of Islay, and there are still many MacNeills found in Scotland today.
Famous people with the name Mac Niell
- Dan MacNiell, Canadian actor best known for his roles in Diary of the Dead and The Returned.
- Dermot MacNiell, Irish actor best known for his roles in Vikings and Penny Dreadful.
- Jamie MacNiell, British television presenter and actor known for his work with the BBC and ITV.
- Alastair MacNiell, Scottish actor known for his roles in Game of Thrones, The Fall and Outlander.
- Aidan MacNiell, American actor best known for his roles in Smallville and The Last Man on Earth.
- Jason MacNiell, Canadian actor who starred in the bike movie Rad.
- Sarah MacNiell, British actress known for playing the lead role in The Little Vampire.
- Rory MacNiell, Canadian actor and ice hockey player known for playing Austin Powers in The Spy Who Shagged Me.
- Liam MacNiell, British actor best known for his role as Tommy in the movie Nanny McPhee.
- Madeline MacNiell, Canadian actress who starred in the movie The Santa Clause 2.