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Origins Available: |
| Ireland |
All Irish surnames have a unique and often romantic meaning. The name McShan originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Seain, which translates as son of John.
The surname McShan was first found in County Kerry (Irish:Ciarraí) part of the former County Desmond (14th-17th centuries), located in Southwestern Ireland, in Munster province, where they were granted lands by Strongbow when he invaded Ireland in 1172.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McShan research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1750 is included under the topic Early McShan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Because early scribes and church officials often spelled names as they sounded, a person could have many various spellings of his name.Many different spelling variations of the surname McShan were found in the archives researched. These included McShane, McShain, McShaen, MacShane, MacShain, MacShaen, MacCheyne, McCheyne, McSheyne, MacSheyne, McCheine, McChain, MacCheine, MacChain, McChein, McShaney, McShanie and many more.
Notable amongst the family name at this time was
In the United States, the name McShan is the 17,659th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1
Thousands of Irish left in their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries to escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, and in the search of a plot of land to call their own. These immigrants arrived at the eastern shores of North America, early on settling and breaking the land, and, later, building the bridges, canals, and railroads essential to the emerging nations of United States and Canada. Many others would toil for low wages in the dangerous factories of the day. Although there had been a steady migration of Irish to North America over these years, the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name McShan or a variant listed above: John and Joseph McShain settled in Philadelphia in 1860.