McQuillan
Encyclopedia
McQuillan and MacQuillan are a surnames of Irish
and Scottish
origin. There are several unrelated origins of the surnames McQuillan and MacQuillan.
The Ulster variant of the surname was claimed to be an anglicisation
of the Gaelic
Mac Uighilín (son of Hugelin), the name allegedly adopted by the family of Hugelin de Mandeville. The de Mandevilles were a Cambro-Norman family and had conquered an area of north Antrim.
In reality the de Mandeville's sold their estates in north Antrim to the McQuillans by the 1460s. The McQuillans had originally come to Ulster from south-west Scotland to aid the earls of Ulster as mercenaries. Both families had previously held the office of "constable of the bonnaght" for the Earldom of Ulster - a system adopted from the Irish where mercenaries where hired to act as a body of standing troops. The McQuillans renamed the lands they acquired "the Route
", derived from their "rout", a common term then for a private army.
These McQuillans played a large role in the history of County Antrim
. They are the previous owners of Dunluce Castle
, located in the north of County Antrim.
The name is also an anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Cuilinn
. The Scottish variant of the surname, of Irish origin, is an anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic Mac Coilín and Scottish Gaelic Mac Cailein, (The patronymic
forms of Coilín and Cailean.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
origin. There are several unrelated origins of the surnames McQuillan and MacQuillan.
The Ulster variant of the surname was claimed to be an anglicisation
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
of the Gaelic
Goidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
Mac Uighilín (son of Hugelin), the name allegedly adopted by the family of Hugelin de Mandeville. The de Mandevilles were a Cambro-Norman family and had conquered an area of north Antrim.
In reality the de Mandeville's sold their estates in north Antrim to the McQuillans by the 1460s. The McQuillans had originally come to Ulster from south-west Scotland to aid the earls of Ulster as mercenaries. Both families had previously held the office of "constable of the bonnaght" for the Earldom of Ulster - a system adopted from the Irish where mercenaries where hired to act as a body of standing troops. The McQuillans renamed the lands they acquired "the Route
Route, County Antrim
Route, Reuta, Rowte, or , was a medieval territory in County Antrim, Northern Ireland consisting of the baronies of Dunluce Upper, Dunluce Lower, Toome Lower, and the North East Liberties of Coleraine . It also formed part of the more ancient kingdoms of Dál Riata and Dál nAraidi, as well as the...
", derived from their "rout", a common term then for a private army.
These McQuillans played a large role in the history of County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
. They are the previous owners of Dunluce Castle
Dunluce Castle
Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim , and is accessible via a bridge connecting it to the mainland...
, located in the north of County Antrim.
The name is also an anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Cuilinn
Mac Cuilinn
MacCuillinn or Mac Cuillann is an Irish surname. The name is the patronymic form of a personal name derived from cuileann . The name has become Anglicised as MacCullen & McCullen, and MacQuillan & McQuillan. The name appears in Irish mythology. The family are thought to have been Celtic Kings...
. The Scottish variant of the surname, of Irish origin, is an anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic Mac Coilín and Scottish Gaelic Mac Cailein, (The patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
forms of Coilín and Cailean.
List of persons with the surname
- Adrian McQuillanAdrian McQuillanAdrian McQuillan, MLA is a DUP politician in Northern Ireland.A joiner by trade and postman for 18 years McQuillan was first elected to Coleraine Borough Council in 2001. He was subsequently elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a member for East Londonderry at the 2007 Assembly elections...
(born 1965), Northern Irish politician - George McQuillanGeorge McQuillanGeorge Watt McQuillan , born in Brooklyn, New York, was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies , Cincinnati Reds , Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians ....
(1885-1940), American Major League baseball pitcher - Jack McQuillanJack McQuillanJack McQuillan was an Irish politician, trade union official and army officer.He was born in Ballyforan, County Roscommon in 1920. He was a member of the Roscommon Gaelic football team that won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1943 and 1944...
(1920–1998), Irish politician - Jim McQuillan (computer programmer), founder and project leader of the Linux Terminal Server Project
- Jim McQuillan (darts player)Jim McQuillan (darts player)James "Jim" McQuillan is an Irish former darts player.McQuillan played in the 1975 World Masters, losing in the first round to Alan Evans who went on to win the tournament. He then played in the 1979 BDO World Darts Championship, defeating Murray Smith in the first round before losing in the...
(born 1940), Irish former darts player - John McQuillanJohn McQuillanJohn McQuillan is a Scottish former professional footballer.-Career:McQuillan, a right-back, began his career with his hometown club Stranraer in 1986, despite having already played for Dundee United's victorious youth side in the Milk Cup earlier that year...
(born 1970), Scottish former professional footballer - Matt McQuillanMatt McQuillanMatt McQuillan is a Canadian professional golfer. He has played on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour for several seasons, since 2003, and won one tournament there. McQuillan earned 2011 playing privileges on the PGA Tour with a strong performance in stage three of Q-School, on his first attempt...
(born 1981), Canadian professional golfer - Michael McQuillan (1973- ) Dublin artist, musician, poet and photo exhibitor
- Rachel McQuillanRachel McQuillanRachel McQuillan is a retired professional tennis player from Australia. She won 5 WTA Tour doubles titles, as well as 14 singles and 21 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She reached the mixed doubles semifinals at the 1995 and 1998 French Opens and at the 1996 US Open, each time...
(born 1971), retired Australian professional tennis player - Tony McQuillanTony McQuillanAnthony John McQuillan, , was an Australian Test cricket match umpire, from Queensland..He umpired one Test match in 1993 between Australia and New Zealand at Perth on 12 November to 16 November 1993, a match drawn through Australia’s”unaccountable dithering”...
(born 1951), Australian Test cricket match umpire - William McQuillan (1886-1912) Belfast, Stoker (Fireman) on Titanic, died when she sank.