Contents [hide]

McColl History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

McColl History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The old Scottish-Dalriadan name McColl is derived from the Gaelic surname of Scottish origin, which means son of the battle chief.

Saint Gall (550?-645?), originally named Cellach or Caillech, was abbot and the apostle of the Suevi and the Alemanni, and appears to have been the son of Cethernach, an Irishman of noble lineage, of the sept of Hy-Cennsealach, his mother being, it is asserted, a queen of Hungary. 1

The MacGall variant was later derived from the Gaelic Mac goill, or Mac an ghoill, 'stranger's son,' 'Lowlander.' 2

The MacCall variant was from the Gaelic MacCathail, 'son of Cathal,' "the M'Calls of Guffokland were an old Nithsdale family. Robert M'Kawele, was Lord of Karsnelohe, c. 1370-1380." 2

Early Origins of the McColl family

The surname McColl was first found in Argyllshire (Gaelic erra Ghaidheal), the region of western Scotland corresponding roughly with the ancient Kingdom of Dál Riata, in the Strathclyde region of Scotland, now part of the Council Area of Argyll and Bute, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

The Maccalls of Dumfriesshire were settled there as early as 1500, "and are said to be descended from the Macaulays. John M'Call is recorded in Cumbray, 1583 (Hunter, p. 31). Matthew McCall in Maybole, charged with reset of rebels in 1607, appears a few days later as McEall (RPC., XIV p. 507). Quintigern Makcall, bailie of Edinburgh, 1610." 2

Early History of the McColl family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McColl research. Another 215 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1602, 1629, 1684, 1686, 1688 and 1890 are included under the topic Early McColl History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McColl 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 McColl include MacAll, MacColl, MacCole, MacCall, MacAul, Mccall and others.

Early Notables of the McColl family

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

McColl Ranking

In the United States, the name McColl is the 16,083^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the McColl family to Ireland

Some of the McColl family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McColl migration to the United States +

These settlers arrived in North America at a time when the east was burgeoning with prosperous colonies and the expanses of the west were just being opened up. The American War of Independence was also imminent. Some Scots stayed to fight for a new country, while others who remained loyal went north as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of all of them went on to rediscover their heritage in the 20th century through highland games and other patriotic Scottish events. The McColl were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

McColl Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John McColl, who arrived in New York in 1738 4
Sara Ann McColl, who landed in North Carolina in 1790 4
Margaret McColl, who arrived in New York in 1795 4

McColl Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Daniel McColl, aged 70, who arrived in North Carolina in 1812 4
Dugall McColl, aged 46, who landed in New York, NY in 1812-1813 4
Duncan McColl, aged 58, who arrived in North Carolina in 1812 4
Hugh McColl, aged 67, who landed in North Carolina in 1812 4
William McColl, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1851 4

McColl migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McColl Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Sgt. Duncan McColl U.E. who settled in Schoodic Falls [St. Stephen], Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 5
Mr. John McColl U.E. who settled in Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 5
Mrs. Susannah McColl U.E. who settled in Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 5

McColl Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Thomas McColl, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Edward Reid" in 1833

McColl migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

McColl Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

James McColl, Scottish convict from Glasgow, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on September 3rd, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Peter McColl, Scottish convict who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 14 years, transported aboard the "Henry Tanner" on 27th June 1834, settling in New South Wales, Australia 7
John McColl, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Tomatin" in 1840 8
Mr. Hugh McColl, Scottish convict who was convicted in Perth, Scotland for 10 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 27th August 1852, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 9
Daniel McColl, aged 26, a shepherd, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Dirigo" 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McColl migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

McColl Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Paul Mccoll, (b. 1836), aged 27, British shepherd travelling from London aboard the ship "David G. Fleming" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 9th December 1863 11
Mrs. Amelia Mccoll, (b. 1840), aged 23, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "David G. Fleming" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 9th December 1863 11
Mr. McColl, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Esmok" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 25th March 1865 11
Mary McColl, aged 24, a domestic servant, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Christian McAusland" in 1875

Contemporary Notables of the name McColl (post 1700) +

William Frazer "Bill" McColl Jr. (1930-2023), American athlete, surgeon and politician, best remembered as a college football star before becoming a professional with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), third runner-up in the 1951 Heisman Trophy voting, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973
Hugh L. McColl Jr (b. 1935), former Chairman and CEO of Bank of America
Billy McColl (1951-2014), born William Collins, Scottish actor, best known for his role in Doctor Who
Hugh McColl (1819-1885), Scottish-born irrigation pioneer in Australia
Jimmy McColl (b. 1892), Scottish footballer
Graham Douglas McColl (1934-2022), Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the Victorian Football League in 1958
Ruth Stephanie McColl AO (b. 1950), Australian judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
James Hiers McColl (1844-1929), Australian politician
Sir Colin Hugh Verel McColl KCMG (b. 1932), English former Head of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1989 to 1994
Hamish McColl (b. 1962), British comedian, writer and actor
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1820 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1820
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/henry-tanner
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) TOMATIN 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Tomatin.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
South Australian Register Thursday 23rd November 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Dirigo 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/dirigo1854.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html