Lish History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany
Scotland

On the Scottish west coast, the Lish family was born among the ancient Dalriadan clans. Their name comes from a devotion to Christianity. The Gaelic form of the name is M'A'Lios, which is a shortened form of Mac Giolla Iosa, meaning on of the servant of Jesus. 1 Cleish Castle is a 16th-century tower house in Kinross-shire, Scotland, west of the hamlet of Cleish.

Early Origins of the Lish family

The surname Lish was first found in Dumfriesshire where "Mychael M'Cleish or M'CIeisch was tenant of the Brewland cum le stallage' in Dumfriesshire in 1376." 2

"Thomas M'Cleche was a voter in parish of Qwilton (Coylton), 1514, and Michaile M'Cleys, witness in Carrik, 1514. Duncan M'Cleish was servant to Dwgall M'Dugall in Deweldik, 1588, another Duncan M'Cleiche was admitted burgess of Glasgow, 1589, and a third Duncan M'Cleishe, burgess freeman in 1627." 2

Early History of the Lish family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lish research. Another 149 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1580, 1613, 1638, 1665, 1686, 1745, 1797, 1803, 1806, 1811, 1844, 1870 and 1872 are included under the topic Early Lish History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lish Spelling Variations

In various documents Lish has been spelled Since medieval scribes still spelled according to sound, records from that era contain an enormous number of spelling variations. MacLeish, MacCleish, MacLise, MacLish, MacGillies, MacGleish, MacGillis, MacLeash and many more.

Early Notables of the Lish family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was

Daniel MacLise (1806-1870), historical painter, was the son of Alexander McLeish, McLish, McClisse, or McLise, a Scottish highlander, once a private soldier in the Elgin fencibles, but at the time of...

Lish Ranking

In the United States, the name Lish is the 18,124^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Lish 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:

Lish Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Adam Lish, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1755 4

Lish Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Philip August Lish, who arrived in Mississippi in 1848 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Lish (post 1700) +

John F. Lish, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Dakota, 1928 5
Ira M. Lish, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Illinois, 1920 5
Frank Lish, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Dakota, 1912 5

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. 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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html