The many centuries old Dalriadan-Scottish name MacGillis comes from
a devotion to Christianity. The Gaelic form of the name is
M'A'Lios, which is a shortened form of
Mac Giolla Iosa, meaning s
on of the servant of Jesus. Early Origins of the MacGillis family
The surname MacGillis was first found in
Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central
Scotland, where they held a
family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early rolls taken by the Kings of
England and Scotland.
Early History of the MacGillis family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacGillis research.
Another 195 words (14 lines of text) are included under the topic Early MacGillis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
MacGillis Spelling Variations
Spelling and translation were not standardized practices until the last few centuries.
Spelling variations are extremely common among early Scottish names. MacGillis has been spelled MacLeish, MacCleish, MacLise, MacLish, MacGillies, MacGleish, MacGillis, MacLeash and many more.
Early Notables of the MacGillis family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early MacGillis Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the MacGillis family to the New World and Oceana
Many who arrived from
Scotland settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would go on to become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. In the American
War of Independence, many settlers who remained loyal to
England went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Their descendants later began to recover the lost Scottish heritage through events such as the highland games that dot North America in the summer months. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the MacGillis family emigrate to North America: Anne McLeish settled in Pennsylvania in 1833; George and Catherine McGillis settled in Pennsylvania in 1773.
Contemporary Notables of the name MacGillis (post 1700)
- Henry R. MacGillis, American Republican politician, Candidate for Circuit Judge in Michigan 23rd Circuit, 1916 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html