| ![Show Contents]() McGlashen Surname History
Gaelic is at the heart of many of the Irish surnames that can be found throughout the world today. The original Gaelic form of the name McGlashen is Mac Glasain or Mac Glaisin; both are derived from the word "glas," which means "green" or "gray-green." Early Origins of the McGlashen familyThe surname McGlashen was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times. McGlashen stones known as "stones of strength", or "testing stones" were used for centuries as tests of strength of young men in Scotland. Traditionally known as "clach cuid fir", or "manhood stones," young men were welcomed into manhood when he was able to lift the "clach cuid fir" from the ground to waist height. More recently McGlashen Stones and the Dinnie Stones have been used in many Strongman competitions since the 1980s. In Scotland, the name is from the "Gaelic M'Glaisein, a diminutive form of M'Ghille ghlals 'son of the grey lad.' [Other early records include] Mulmory M'Glassen in the Black Isle, 1500. Iain McGalssan or McGlassane was witness at Ardgartene, 1515. John M'Glassan witnessed an instrument of sasine in 1519, as also did Cristin M'Gillecallum M'Glassen in 1525, and Paul M'Glassen is in record in Lochalsh in 1548." 1 Indeed, Scotland became the home to many of the family as today most claim to be Scottish. Early History of the McGlashen familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our McGlashen research. Another 167 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1515, 1548, 1647, 1681, 1710, 1740 and 1797 are included under the topic Early McGlashen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. McGlashen Spelling VariationsScribes and church officials, lacking today's standardized spelling rules, recorded names by how they were pronounced. This imprecise guide often led to the misleading result of one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname McGlashen are preserved in documents of the family history. The various spellings of the name that were found include MacGlashan, MacGlashen, MacGlasheen, MacGlassan, MacGlasson, Houneen, O'Houneen and many more. Early Notables of the McGlashen familyMore information is included under the topic Early McGlashen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the McGlashen familyIreland saw an enormous decrease in its population in the 19th century due to immigration and death. This pattern of immigration began slowly in the late 18th century and gradually grew throughout the early portion of the 19th century. However, a dramatic increase in the country's immigration numbers occurred when the Great Potato Famine struck in the 1840s. The early immigrants to North America were primarily destined to be farmers tending to their own plot of land, those that came later initially settled within pre-established urban centers. These urban immigrants provided the cheap labor that the fast developing United States and soon to be Canada required. Regardless of their new lifestyle in North America, the Irish immigrants to the United States and Canada made invaluable contributions to their newly adopted societies. An investigation of immigrant and passenger lists revealed many McGlashens: Robert MacGlashan with his wife and two children who arrived in New York in 1775 and moved on to Georgia, as well as John MacGlashan, who was recorded in Savannah, Georgia in 1855..
| Contemporary Notables of the name McGlashen (post 1700) | + |
- Royce Peter McGlashen MBE (b. 1949), New Zealand ceramicist, winner of the Merit Awards at the Fletcher Brownbuilt Pottery Award (1983 and 1987)
- 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)
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Ireland
Scotland
