| ![Show Contents]() Millan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Scotland Ireland The ancient Dalriadan-Scottish name Millan is a nickname for a bald person; the name may refer to a member of a religious order. The Gaelic forms of the name are Mac Mhaolain or Mac Ghille Mhaoil, both of which mean son of the bald or tonsured one.
However, the origins of the Clan have been shrouded in uncertainty, largely as a result of historians of the Clan Buchanan, and their insistence that both Clans have a common ancestry. Buchanan of Auchmar says that the MacMillans are descended from Methlan, second son of Anselan, a Buchanan Chief of the thirteenth century. His theory supports the Buchanan claim that the MacMillans are but a sept (sub-Clan) of the Buchanan rather than a Clan in their own right. This theory is supported by the contention that both Clans have an ecclesiastical origin: MacMillan being Anglicized from Maolanach, meaning a 'priest.' However, tradition may more properly ascribe the origin from a particular tribe in Moray that has descended from the ancient Pictish tribe of Kanteai, thought to have existed in the first half of the second century AD. Early Origins of the Millan familyThe surname Millan was first found in at Tayside, where in 1263 Cilleonan MacMolan appears on documents. 1 They arrived in Strathtay from the lands in Loch Arkaig after King Malcolm IV transplanted many Clans, including the MacMillans, from that region about 1160 AD. Later, about 1350, the Camerons, who had changed their name to Chalmers, drove them from their Strathtay territories. In vacating the Strathtay, the Clan branched to many other areas, including Lochaber, Argyll and Galloway. The senior branch, however, were the MacMillans of Knapdale, and they held a grant from the Lord of the Isles inscribed in Latin on a rock at Knap: 'MacMillan's right to Knap shall be, as long as this rock withstands the sea.' Malcolm Mor MacMillan had received this rock by the 14th century. His grandson Lachlan MacMillan died at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411. Lachlan's son, Alan MacMillan of Knap, married the McNeill heiress and took over the Castle Sween. He erected a cross, which still stands to this day in Kilmory churchyard. The cross stands better than twelve feet high and is elaborately engraved, showing a Highland Chief hunting a deer on one side, and a claymore surmounted by certain Clan members on the other. Early History of the Millan familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Millan research. Another 267 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1452, 1454, 1540, 1555, 1670, 1745, 1753, 1775 and 1790 are included under the topic Early Millan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Millan Spelling VariationsSpelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. Millan has appeared in various documents spelled MacMillan, MacMullan, MacMullen, McMullen, McMullin, McMullan, McMillan, MacMullin and many more. Early Notables of the Millan familyNotable amongst the Clan from early times was - John MacMillan (1670-1753), was the founder of the Reformed Presbyterian church, son of John Macmillan, who descended from a branch of the family long settled at Arndarroch, was born at Barncachla, in...
Millan RankingIn the United States, the name Millan is the 5,438th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Millan is ranked the 6,178th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 3  Migration of the Millan family to Ireland
Some of the Millan family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 89 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Millan 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:
Millan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Andre J Millan, aged 50, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1827 4
- Francisco Millan, who arrived in Spanish Main in 1836 4
- George B Millan, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1850 4
- William Millan, who arrived in Pike County, Ind in 1860 4
| Millan migration to Canada | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: Millan Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century- Mr. John Millan U.E. who settled in Belle Vue, Beaver Harbour, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1783 5
- Mr. Thomas Millan U.E. who settled in Home District [York County], Ontario c. 1784 5
- Corpl. Dan Millan U.E. who settled in Home District [York County], Ontario c. 1784 5
| Millan migration to Australia | + |
Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include: Millan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
| Millan 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: Millan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century- Miss Martha Millan, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Zambesi" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1863 6
- Miss Millan, American settler travelling from Honolulu aboard the ship "Dakota" arriving in Port Chalmers, South Island, New Zealand on 10th March 1873 7
| Millan migration to West Indies | + |
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 8Millan Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century- Juan Millan, who landed in Cuba in 1837 4
| Contemporary Notables of the name Millan (post 1700) | + |
- Anselmo Millan, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 1996; Candidate for Mayor of Harrison, New Jersey, 2006 9
- Mrs. Joanna Frances Millan B.E.M. (b. 1942), born Bela Rosenthal in Berlin, British Holocaust survivor, was appointed Medallist of the British Empire Medal 29th December 2018 for services to Holocaust Education 10
- José Guadalupe Osuna Millán (b. 1955), Mexican economist and politician
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: Miseris succurrere disco
Motto Translation: I learn to succour the distressed.
- 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/
- http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
- 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
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
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Millan migration to the United States 
Millan migration to Canada 
Millan migration to Australia 
Millan migration to New Zealand 
Millan migration to West Indies 
