Maccloy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The name Maccloy came to England with the ancestors of the Maccloy family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Maccloy family lived in Worcestershire. The earliest instances of the name in England appear for the most part to be of local origin; that is, derived from the name of the place where an original bearer lived or where he once held land, the place in this instance being a hlaw, the Old English word for a hill. Any individual case may also be of nickname origin, deriving from loup, the Old French word for a wolf, or from one of the pet-names for Lawrence, such as Law or Low. [1]

Exploring the Norman (French) connection more, we found Richard Lowes was listed in Normandy 1180-95 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae.) [2]

Early Origins of the Maccloy family

The surname Maccloy was first found in Worcestershire. Later, a branch of the family was found at Alderwasley in Derbyshire. " The Le Foune or Fawne family held lands here in the reign of Henry III., and their heiress intermarried with the Lowes, who obtained a grant of the manor from Henry VIII." [3]

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include: Ralph de la Lowe, Salop (Shropshire); and Hugh de la Lowe, Herefordshire. [4]

In Somerset, Crist atte Lowe was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edwar III.) [5]

In Cheshire, the family has a long history of serving as Mayors of Macclesfield: Thomas del Lowe, 1430; Thomas Lowe, 1448; and George Lowe, 1607. [4]

In Gloucestershire, John le Luv was listed in the Pipe Rolls for 1207 and later, Robertus Lupus and Robert le Lu were listed in the Assize Rolls for Warwickshire in 1221. Walter le Lou was found in Devon in 1242 and later again, William le Low was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lancashire in 1284. In London, Martin le Low was found there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275. In the same year, Robert de la Lowe was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire and later, Roger del Lowe was found in the Assize Rolls for Cheshire in 1288. [6]

"Essentially a name of the midlands and adjacent north - west counties, being most numerous in Derbyshire, Warwickshire, and Cheshire. Lowes is the north of England form, occurring in Northumberland and Durham, and in the North and East Ridings in the form of Lowish. In Scotland Low has an independent home in Aberdeenshire." [7]

Taking time to explore Scotland in more detail, we found the name is more commonly in the form Lowes and is: "from old lands of the name near the Loch of Lowes in Selkirkshire. Lowys, Lowis, Lowes, is a Lowland surname the first record of which appears to be in 1318. In that year Walter Lowys witnessed a charter to lands in the earldom of Dunbar. Patrick de Lowis appears as burgess of Edinburgh, 1447, and in 1449 as Patrick Lowis (without 'de') attested a renunciation by Walter Scott of Bukcleuch. There was a family of Lowis of Mener in Peeblesshire in record 1463-1464, and the family is to be traced beyond the year 1622. Thomas of Lowis in record, 1473. Families of the name were also long tenants under the see of Glasgow in Eddleston parish. Margaret Lowyss held half the lands of Burnetland, Peeblesshire, 1557. " [8]

Early History of the Maccloy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Maccloy research. Another 221 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1433, 1439, 1318, 1603, 1607, 1517, 1524, 1680, 1689, 1601, 1790, 1694, 1689, 1594, 1682, 1640, 1644, 1628, 1667, 1661, 1667, 1690, 1724, 1720, 1467, 1428, 1432, 1682, 1443, 1601, 1603, 1588, 1618, 1613, 1602 and are included under the topic Early Maccloy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Maccloy Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Lowe, Lowes, Lowis, Lowse, Low, McLoy and others.

Early Notables of the Maccloy family (pre 1700)

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Humphrey Lowe, High Sheriff of Shropshire; George Lowe (c. 1594-1682), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Calne (1640-1644), a Royalist supporter; John Lowe (1628-1667), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1667; and Captain Edward "Ned" Low, also Lowe or Loe, (c. 1690-c. 1724), a notorious English pirate active in the Caribbean and the Bay of Hounduras during the early 1720s. John Lowe (d. 1467), bishop successively of St. Asaph and Rochester, is said to have been a native of Worcestershire. Nash (Worcestershire, ii. 95) connects him...
Another 224 words (16 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Maccloy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Maccloy family to Ireland

Some of the Maccloy family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 87 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Maccloy migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Maccloy or a variant listed above:

Maccloy Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas MacCloy, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 [9]

The Maccloy 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: Spero meliora
Motto Translation: I hope for better things.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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)