McCloed History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Scotland

In the mountains of Scotland's west coast and on the Hebrides islands, the ancestors of the McCloed family were born. Their name comes from the personal name Leod. The Gaelic form of the surname is Mac Leoid, which means son of Leod, son of Olaf the Black, King of Man and the Northern Isles. Olaf was from a dynasty of Norse Kings, who, for centuries held the Isles. They were in turn descended from King Halfdan the Stingy, a King who was reputed to be descended from the god Frey. Leod held the island of Lewis, the mainland Glenelg and part of Skye in about 1195 AD. It was his two sons who founded the two great branches of the Siol Tormod and the Siol Torquil.

Early Origins of the McCloed family

The surname McCloed was first found in on the Isle of Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas), where the Siol Tormod branch held the territories of Harris, Glenelg and Dunvegan Castle in Skye; while the Siol Torquil branch held Assynt and Cadboll, and the Island of Ramasay. There were no title deeds for these territories as they had been considered possessions of Norway. Yet when King Haakon asserted his authority over the lands in 1263 King Alexander resisted. Although the Scottish King Alexander signed the Treaty of Perth allowing payment of rent to Norway for all these lands, it was never paid and the whole of the western Isles became Scottish possessions.

Important Dates for the McCloed family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McCloed research. Another 380 words (27 lines of text) covering the years 1314, 1597, 1613, 1715, 1745, and 1777 are included under the topic Early McCloed History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCloed Spelling Variations

In various documents McCloed has been spelled Since medieval scribes still spelled according to sound, records from that era contain an enormous number of spelling variations. MacLeod, MacCleod, MacCloud, MacLoud and many more.

Early Notables of the McCloed family (pre 1700)

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was Sir Roderick MacLeod of Dunvegan Castle who led 600 of his Clansmen to Ireland to assist in O'Donnell's rebellion and Lord MacLeod's Highlanders (73rd Regiment - later the 71st Regiment)...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McCloed Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the McCloed family

The descendants of the Dalriadan families who made the great crossing of the Atlantic still dot communities along the east coast of the United States and Canada. In the American War of Independence, many of the settlers traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Clan societies and highland games have allowed Canadian and American families of Scottish descent to recover much of their lost heritage. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name McCloed or a variant listed above include: Alan, Angus, Anne, Catherine, Donald, George, Jean, John, Malcolm, Margaret, Mary, Murdoch and his wife Christian; Neal and his wife Margaret and three children.