MacNabb History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The name MacNabb comes from the ancient Scottish kingdom of Dalriada, where it was used to indicate someone who worked as a son of an abbot. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac an Aba. They are descended from the hereditary abbots of St. Fillan's near Loch Earn. Fillan was a royal prince of the royal house of Dalriada. In the reign of William, the Lyon of Scotland, the Abbots of Glendochart held a rank equivalent to the Earls of Atholl and Menteith. The Clan held the barony of Glendochart at the west end of Loch Tay.

Early Origins of the MacNabb family

The surname MacNabb was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland, where they joined with the MacDougalls in opposing Robert the Bruce and consequently lost many of the vast territories they had held. However, the Chief of the MacNabs finally became reconciled to the Bruce, and regained many of his lost lands when King David II came to the throne of Scotland. He also received the official charter for the barony of Bowaine dated 1336. Finlay MacNab, the 4th Chief of the Clan, added considerably to the estates toward the end of the 15th century, but in 1552 another Finlay, the 6th Chief, fell into financial difficulties and mortgaged most of the Clan lands to the Campbell of Glenorchy. The Clan, however, refused to acknowledge the superiority of the Campbells

Early History of the MacNabb family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacNabb research. Another 403 words (29 lines of text) covering the years 1612, 1651, 1660, 1745, 1770, 1780, 1798, 1816, 1820, 1854, 1856, 1860, 1862 and 1890 are included under the topic Early MacNabb History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacNabb Spelling Variations

Since medieval scribes still spelled according to sound, records from that era contain an enormous number of spelling variations. In various documents MacNabb has been spelled MacNab, MacNabb, MacKnab, Mac an Aba (Gaelic) and others.

Early Notables of the MacNabb family

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

Migration of the MacNabb family to Ireland

Some of the MacNabb family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacNabb migration to the United States +

Descendents of Dalriadan-Scottish families still populate many communities across North America. They are particularly common in Canada, since many went north as United Empire Loyalists at the time of the American War of Independence. Much later, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the highland games and Clan societies that now dot North America sprang up, allowing many Scots to recover their lost national heritage. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name MacNabb, or a variant listed above:

MacNabb Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James MacNabb, who arrived in New England in 1651-1652 1

MacNabb Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas MacNabb, who landed in Maryland in 1716 1
John Macnabb, who landed in Maryland in 1747 1

MacNabb 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. 2

MacNabb Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Alexander, Thomas and John MacNabb, who settled in Jamaica in 1716

Contemporary Notables of the name MacNabb (post 1700) +

James Alexander MacNabb (1901-1990), British gold medalist rower at the 1924 Summer Olympics

The MacNabb Motto +

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: Timor omnis abesto
Motto Translation: Let fear be far from all.

Citations +

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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies