McAlinden History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Irish surnames have had their original forms altered in many ways. Before being translated into English, McAlinden appeared as Mac Giolla Fhiondain, which refers to a descendant of a devotee of St. Fintan.

Early Origins of the McAlinden family

The surname McAlinden was first found in counties Armagh and Down (Irish:An Dún) part of the Province of Ulster, in Northern Ireland, formerly known as county St Mirren, where they were anciently known as the Mac Giolla Fhiondain, devotees of St. Fintan an ancient sept of Oriel,(roughly equivalent to Ulster,) and the clann being one of the founding septs of Northern Ireland.

Early History of the McAlinden family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McAlinden research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1650 is included under the topic Early McAlinden History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McAlinden Spelling Variations

Individual scribes in the Ireland during the Middle Ages would often record a person's name various ways. How the name was recorded depended on what that particular scribe believed the proper spelling for the name pronounced to him was. Spelling variations revealed in the search for the origin of the McAlinden family name include McAlinden, McAlindan, McAlindon, Glindon, Lindon, Glendon, McLindon, MacLindon, MacAlindon, MacClendon, McClendon, McLinden, McGlindon, MacGlindon, McGlendon and many more.

Early Notables of the McAlinden family

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

McAlinden migration to the United States +

Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name McAlinden:

McAlinden Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Sarah Jane McAlinden, aged 45, who landed in America from Belfast, in 1901
Joseph McAlinden, aged 21, who settled in America from Lurgan, Ireland, in 1907
Mary McAlinden, aged 30, who immigrated to the United States from Armagh, Ireland, in 1907
Henry McAlinden, aged 2, who landed in America from Nenagh, Ireland, in 1907
John McAlinden, aged 24, who immigrated to the United States from Belfast, Ireland, in 1911
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name McAlinden (post 1700) +

Robert McAlinden (b. 1952), American professional football player
Hugh McAlinden, Irish chairman of Belfast Celtic F.C., one of the founders of greyhound racing in Ireland, eponym of the McAlinden Cup
James "Jimmy" McAlinden (1917-1993), Irish footballer who played from 1934 to 1955, member of the Ireland National Team (1937-1948)
Danny McAlinden (1947-2021), Irish heavyweight boxer from Newry, Northern Ireland, British and Commonwealth champion in 1972
Robert "Bobby" McAlinden (b. 1946), English former professional footballer from Salford, England who played as a winger
Liam James McAlinden (b. 1993), English-born Irish footballer
Kevin McAlinden, former British footballer from Northern Ireland who represented Great Britain at the 1948 Summer Olympics