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The McGillecattan family comes from the ancient Scottish Dalriadan clans of the mountainous west coast of Scotland. The name McGillecattan is derived from a devotion to St. Catan, a saint of whom little is known but who was revered throughout the west coast of Scotland between the islands of Bute and Skye. The Gaelic form of the name was Mac Gille Chatain, which means son of St. Catan's servant.
The surname McGillecattan was first found in the area of Argyllshire on the Isle of Bute, and literally translated means the "servant of St. Catan," the patron saint of Bute, Skye, Colonsay, Gigha. St. Catan was said to have lived at the Abbey of Inchaffray on the isle of Skye.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McGillecattan research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1424, 1465, 1670, 1672 and 1685 are included under the topic Early McGillecattan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. McGillecattan has appeared in various documents spelled McIlhatton, McElhatton, McElhatten, McGillecattan, McIlchattan, McHilhatton, Makelatyn, Macklehatton, McHatton and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early McGillecattan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name McGillecattan or a variant listed above: James McElhatten settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1866; Arthur, Alexander, Cornelius, and John McIlhattan and McIlhatten settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1860 and 1866.