McSparren History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

Etymology of McSparren

What does the name McSparren mean?

The first family to use the name McSparren lived in the ancient Scottish kingdom of Dalriada. It was used as a nickname for a person who carried a sporran, which is the purse worn with the kilt in Highland Scottish dress. The Gaelic form of the surname is Mac-an-sporain, which means son of the purse.

Early Origins of the McSparren family

The surname McSparren was first found in on the Isle of Iona, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Scotland to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the McSparren family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McSparren research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1745 is included under the topic Early McSparren History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McSparren Spelling Variations

Medieval translation of Gaelic names could not be referred to as an accurate process. Spelling was not yet standardized, and names in documents from that era are riddled with spelling variations. McSparren has been written as MacSporran, MacSparran and others.

Early Notables of the McSparren family

More information is included under the topic Early McSparren Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McSparren migration to the United States +

Significant portions of the populations of both the United States and Canada are still made up of the ancestors of Dalriadan families. Some of those in Canada originally settled the United States, but went north as United Empire Loyalists in the American War of Independence. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the ancestors of many Scots on both sides of the border begin to recover their collective national heritage through Clan societies and highland games. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

McSparren Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Archibald McSparren, aged 40, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1833 1
Mss McSparren, aged 35, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1833 1

Contemporary Notables of the name McSparren (post 1700) +

Rose McSparren, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Connecticut, 1972 2

The McSparren Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Per mare per terras
Motto Translation: By sea and by land.

Sources +

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html