Contents [hide]

McMahan History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

McMahan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

In its ancient Gaelic form, the Irish name McMahan was written Mac Mathghamhna, which later became Mac Mathuna. Both names are derived from the word "mathghamhan," which means "bear."

Early Origins of the McMahan family

The surname McMahan was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where the MacMahons were lords of Corca Baisgin; and possessed the greater part of the baronies of Moyarta and Clonderlaw. 1

"The Munster MacMahons formerly possessed the greater part of the Baronies of Moyarta and Clonderalaw, in the County Clare, in which county the predominant name now is McMahon." 2

Early History of the McMahan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McMahan research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1119, 1519, 1600, 1606, 1643, 1644, 1650, 1660, 1680, 1707, 1715, 1727, 1737, 1747 and 1780 are included under the topic Early McMahan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McMahan Spelling Variations

Within archives, many different spelling variations exist for the surname McMahan. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in the name of the single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include MacMahon, MacMann, MacMahan, MacMohan and others.

Early Notables of the McMahan family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Séamus mac Pilib Mac Mathghamhna (died 1519), was Bishop of Derry. Hugh Oge MacMahon (1606-1644), was an Irish conspirator, was probably of Sir Brian MacHugh Oge MacMahon, Lord of the Dartree in the county of Monaghan. Herber MacMahon (1600-1650), Bishop of Clogher in 1643, a Catholic leader, commanded the Ulster...
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McMahan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McMahan Ranking

In the United States, the name McMahan is the 2,493^rd most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 3

McMahan migration to the United States +

In the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of Irish people immigrated to North American shores. The early settlers were enticed by the promise of their own land, but they were moderately well off in Ireland when they decided to emigrate. Therefore, they were merely carrying out a long and carefully thought out decision. The 1840s saw the emergence of a very different trend: thousands of extremely desperate people crammed into passenger boats hoping to find any type of opportunity. The Irish of this decade had seen their homeland severely stricken by crop failures which resulted in widespread disease and starvation. At whatever time the Irish immigrants came to North America, they were instrumental in the rapid development of the emerging nations of the United States and what would become known as Canada. An exhaustive search of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many persons bearing the name McMahan, or one of its variants:

McMahan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Lawrence McMahan, who arrived in Mississippi in 1844 4
Ross McMahan, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1849 4
Mary McMahan, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1849
R. M. McMahan settled in San Francisco, California in 1850
Andrew McMahan, who arrived in Tippecanoe County, Ind in 1850 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McMahan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McMahan Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

William McMahan, who landed in Quebec in 1784

McMahan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Michael McMahan, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1840

Contemporary Notables of the name McMahan (post 1700) +

Clinton O. "Mickey" McMahan (1930-2008), American trumpeter with the Lawrence Welk orchestra from 1966 to 1982
David Bruce McMahan, American Chief Executive Officer of convertible securities firm McMahan Securities Co. L.P
Kevin McMahan (b. 1983), American NFL football wide receiver
Jeff McMahan (b. 1954), American philosopher, professor at Rutgers University
Dr. Martin Alan McMahan, associate professor at Biola University
Ronnie McMahan (b. 1972), former professional American basketball player
Jeff McMahan, American Democratic politician from the US state of Oklahoma
Jack Wally McMahan (b. 1932), American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played in 1956 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Athletics

The McMahan 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: Sic nos sic sacra tuemur
Motto Translation: Thus we guard our sacred rights.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
Matheson, Robert E., Special Report on Surnames in Ireland with Notes as to Numeric Strength, Derivation, Ethnology, and Distribution. Dublin: Alexander Thom & Co., 1894. Print
"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)