Show ContentsMacBride History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

As a Scottish name, MacBride is derived from the Gaelic "Mac Gille Brighde," meaning "son of the servant of (St.) Brigit." The Scottish Gaelic word for church "cill Bríghde," became a place name (Kilbride, in Lanarkshire) and some bearers of MacBride may have originally taken their surnames from this.

Early Origins of the MacBride family

The surname MacBride was first found in Arran, an island in North Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire, in the Firth of Clyde, where the name has long existed, although the name's earliest recorded roots are from County Donegal in Ireland. According to legend, both the Scottish and the Irish branches are descended from the son of the servant of (St.) Brigit, the virgin Abbess of Kildare who died 525 A.D.

Early History of the MacBride family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacBride research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1296, 1329, 1370, 1476 and 1890 are included under the topic Early MacBride History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacBride Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: MacBride, McBride, Macbryde, Macbraid, MacBridan, McKillbride, McGillbride, Macilvride, Mackelbreed, McBryde, Bridson, Brydson, Kilbride, Gilbride,MacBridan, MacIlvride, MacBraid and many more.

Early Notables of the MacBride family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was

  • Admiral John MacBride of the British Navy

Ireland Migration of the MacBride family to Ireland

Some of the MacBride family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 134 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States MacBride migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

MacBride Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Ant. Macbride, who arrived in Georgia in 1734
MacBride Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • James MacBride, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 [1]
  • John MacBride, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 [1]
  • Patrick MacBride, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1816 [1]
  • William MacBride, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 [1]
  • Bernard MacBride, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 [1]

Contemporary Notables of the name MacBride (post 1700) +

  • Thomas Huston Macbride (1848-1934), tenth President of the University of Iowa
  • Roger Lea MacBride (1929-1995), American lawyer, political figure, and television producer
  • John MacBride (1735-1800), Admiral of the Blue, Royal Navy officer, who saw service during the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence
  • William D. MacBride, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Whitehorse, 1926 [2]
  • Thomas Jamison MacBride (1914-2000), American Democratic Party politician, Member of California State Assembly, 1955-60; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1960 [2]
  • Roger Lea MacBride (1929-1995), American politician, Member of Vermont State House of Representatives, 1962; Libertarian Candidate for President of the United States, 1976 [2]
  • Robert J. MacBride, American politician, U.S. Consul in Leith, 1897 [2]
  • Winifred MacBride, Scottish concert pianist
  • Morrison Mann MacBride (1877-1938), Ontario merchant and politician
  • Major John MacBride (1868-1916), Irish republican executed for participation in the 1916 Easter Rising
  • ... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. 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)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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