McCloud History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

The McCloud family comes from the ancient Scottish Dalriadan clans of the mountainous west coast of Scotland. The name McCloud is derived from the personal name Leod. The Gaelic form of the surname is Mac Leoid, which means son of Leod, son of Olaf the Black, King of Man and the Northern Isles. Olaf was from a dynasty of Norse Kings, who, for centuries held the Isles. They were in turn descended from King Halfdan the Stingy, a King who was reputed to be descended from the god Frey. Leod held the island of Lewis, the mainland Glenelg and part of Skye in about 1195 AD. It was his two sons who founded the two great branches of the Siol Tormod and the Siol Torquil.

Early Origins of the McCloud family

The surname McCloud was first found in on the Isle of Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas), where the Siol Tormod branch held the territories of Harris, Glenelg and Dunvegan Castle in Skye; while the Siol Torquil branch held Assynt and Cadboll, and the Island of Ramasay. There were no title deeds for these territories as they had been considered possessions of Norway. Yet when King Haakon asserted his authority over the lands in 1263 King Alexander resisted. Although the Scottish King Alexander signed the Treaty of Perth allowing payment of rent to Norway for all these lands, it was never paid and the whole of the western Isles became Scottish possessions.

Early History of the McCloud family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McCloud research. Another 380 words (27 lines of text) covering the years 1314, 1597, 1613, 1715, 1745, 1777, 1901 and 1959 are included under the topic Early McCloud History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCloud Spelling Variations

Translation in medieval times was an undeveloped science and was often carried out without due care. For this reason, many early Scottish names appeared radically altered when written in English. The spelling variations of McCloud include MacLeod, MacCleod, MacCloud, MacLoud and many more.

Early Notables of the McCloud family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was Sir Roderick MacLeod of Dunvegan Castle who led 600 of his Clansmen to Ireland to assist in O'Donnell's rebellion and Lord MacLeod's Highlanders (73rd Regiment - later the 71st Regiment)...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McCloud Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCloud Ranking

In the United States, the name McCloud is the 2,001^st most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 1

McCloud migration to the United States +

The hardy Scots who made the crossing settled all along the east coast of North America and in the great west that was just then opening up. At the time of the American War of Independence, many United Empire Loyalists moved north from the American colonies to Canada. Scottish national heritage became better known in North America in the 20th century through highland games and other patriotic events. An examination of immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name McCloud arrived in North America very early:

McCloud Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Donald McCloud, who landed in New York, NY in 1738 2
William McCloud, who arrived in Virginia in 1756 2
Margaret McCloud, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1773 2

McCloud Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John B McCloud, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1873 2
Andrew McCloud, aged 22, who landed in America from Northumberland, in 1893
Elizth McCloud, aged 40, who landed in America, in 1893
C.C. McCloud, aged 63, who landed in America, in 1894
Chas. McCloud, aged 48, who immigrated to the United States, in 1895

McCloud Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Ellen McCloud, aged 28, who immigrated to America from Donoughmore, in 1903
Catharine McCloud, aged 19, who settled in America from Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1910
Charles McCloud, aged 53, who landed in America, in 1911
Annie McCloud, who immigrated to the United States, in 1912
Alexander McCloud, aged 26, who immigrated to America from Maughold, Isle of Man, in 1913
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McCloud migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McCloud Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Ann McCloud, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Mardough McCloud, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
Robert McCloud, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Contemporary Notables of the name McCloud (post 1700) +

TJ McCloud (b. 1980), American indie and folk singer-songwriter and missionary
Lillie Arlene Nicole Jade McCloud (b. 1958), known by her former stage name Nicole McCloud, or Nicole J. McCloud, an American dance and R&B singer
Scott McCloud (b. 1960), born Scott McLeod, an American cartoonist, best known for his non-fiction books about comics, Understanding Comics (1993), Reinventing Comics (2000), and Making Comics (2006)
Tyrus McCloud (b. 1974), American NFL football player
George McCloud (b. 1967), American former professional NBA basketball player
Ross McCloud (1819-1868), early settler of northern California, namesake of the town of McCloud, California
Kevin McCloud MBE (b. 1959), British television presenter, best known for his work on the Channel 4 series Grand Designs
Lieutenant General David J. McCloud (1945-1998), American United States Air Force officer, Commander of Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, and the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)