McLelint History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Scotland
• Ireland

Etymology of McLelint

History reveals the roots of the McLelint family name in the ancient Strathclyde people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. The McLelint name is derived from the son of the servant of Fillan. Fillan is derived from the word fail which means wolf. In Gaelic, the name was spelled Mac Gill Fhaolain

McLelint Coat of Arms Creation

There is a Maclellan Castle in Kirkcudbright, and the Maclellans, once a numerous clan in Galloway, held it for long. The Irish, or at least Saracens or gipsies 'from Ireland, made incursions into their territory, and were so troublesome that the people had to ask the aid of King James II., who promised the estate of Bombie to the man who slew the formidable leader of the marauding band. Young Maclellan got to know how fond this leader was of strong drink, and arranged that on their next coming his men should flee before them, lead the pursuers over a dry area beyond which was a well, which he carefully filled with spirits.

The leader, thirsty after the chase, reached it, tasted, drank his fill, and, while thus drugged, was slain by young Maclellan, who took for his crest a Moor's head on the point of a sword. When he went to claim the estate the King said he could remember no such promise, but was told to " Think on," which became the motto of the Maclellans. 1

Early Origins of the McLelint family

Early History of the McLelint family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McLelint research. Another 200 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1347, 1450, 1457, 1466, 1513, 1547, 1597, 1633, 1641, 1647 and 1890 are included under the topic Early McLelint History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McLelint Spelling Variations

Prior to the first dictionaries, scribes spelled words according to sound. This, and the fact that Scottish names were repeatedly translated from Gaelic to English and back, contributed to the enormous number of spelling variations in Scottish names. McLelint has been spelled MacClelland, McClellan, MacLellan, McLellan, MacLelland, McLelland, MacClelland, McClelland, Clelland and many more.

Early Notables of the McLelint family

Notable amongst bearers of this family name during their early history was Sir William Maclellan of Bombie, knighted by King James IV of Scotland, who fought for the king in the losing Battle of Flodden Field in 1513. According to folklore, McLellan threw his gauntlet at the king's feet, shook his fist and...
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McLelint Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the McLelint family to Ireland

Some of the McLelint family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 96 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the McLelint family

In such difficult times, the difficulties of raising the money to cross the Atlantic to North America did not seem so large compared to the problems of keeping a family together in Scotland. It was a journey well worth the cost, since it was rewarded with land and freedom the Scots could not find at home. The American War of Independence solidified that freedom, and many of those settlers went on to play important parts in the forging of a great nation. Among them: Andrew McLellan, banished to New Jersey in 1685; Archibald Maclellan, who arrived in New York in 1790; Donald Maclellan, a "prisoner of the '45' sent to Barbados or Jamaica in 1745.