NameCensus.

UK surname

Maccoll

A surname of Scottish origin meaning "son of the servant/disciple".

In the 1881 census there were 111 people recorded with the Maccoll surname, ranking it #18,597 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 566, ranked #9,075, up from #18,597 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lismore and Appin, Govan Combination and Ardchattan and Muckairn. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Benderloch Trail, Lochaber East and North and Oban North.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Maccoll is 570 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 409.9%.

1881 census count

111

Ranked #18,597

Modern count

566

2016, ranked #9,075

Peak year

2014

570 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Maccoll had 111 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,597 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 566 in 2016, ranked #9,075.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 178 in 1851.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Maccoll surname distribution map

The map shows where the Maccoll surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Maccoll surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Maccoll over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 178 #11,397
1861 historical 150 #15,296
1881 historical 111 #18,597
1891 historical 127 #20,496
1901 historical 154 #17,775
1911 historical 49 #27,894
1997 modern 500 #9,304
1998 modern 511 #9,431
1999 modern 490 #9,811
2000 modern 510 #9,485
2001 modern 508 #9,344
2002 modern 541 #9,088
2003 modern 523 #9,192
2004 modern 532 #9,083
2005 modern 525 #9,120
2006 modern 525 #9,135
2007 modern 518 #9,316
2008 modern 532 #9,195
2009 modern 550 #9,169
2010 modern 539 #9,510
2011 modern 529 #9,555
2012 modern 548 #9,194
2013 modern 557 #9,236
2014 modern 570 #9,123
2015 modern 567 #9,082
2016 modern 566 #9,075

Geography

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Where Maccolls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lismore and Appin, Govan Combination, Ardchattan and Muckairn, Edinburgh and Kilmichael Glassary. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Benderloch Trail, Lochaber East and North, Oban North, Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree and Inverness West Rural. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Lismore and Appin Argyll
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 Ardchattan and Muckairn Argyll
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Kilmichael Glassary Argyll

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Benderloch Trail Argyll and Bute
2 Lochaber East and North Highland
3 Oban North Argyll and Bute
4 Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree Argyll and Bute
5 Inverness West Rural Highland

Forenames

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First names often paired with Maccoll

These lists show first names that appear often with the Maccoll surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Maccoll

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Maccoll, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Maccoll surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Maccoll household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Maccoll is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Maccoll is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Maccoll falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Maccoll is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Maccoll, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Maccoll

The surname MacColl is of Scottish origin, deriving from the Gaelic "Mac Colla" which means "son of Coll". The name is believed to have originated in the 13th century in the Highlands of Scotland, particularly in the regions of Argyll and the Outer Hebrides.

The name is thought to be derived from the Old Norse personal name "Koli", which was adapted into the Gaelic form "Coll". The prefix "Mac" is a common Scottish and Irish patronymic, meaning "son of".

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname MacColl can be found in the 14th century in the Book of Assignments, a record of land grants in Scotland. In 1325, a John MacColl is mentioned as a witness to a charter granted by King Robert I of Scotland.

In the 16th century, the MacColls were a prominent clan in the Western Isles of Scotland, particularly on the islands of Islay and Colonsay. Sir Lachlan Mor MacColl, born around 1550, was a renowned warrior and chief of the MacColls of Colonsay.

Another notable figure was Evan MacColl, also known as Evan Dhu or Evan the Black, who was born around 1630 in Lochaber. He was a renowned poet and warrior who fought for the Jacobite cause during the civil wars of the 17th century.

In the 18th century, Ewan MacColl, born in 1808 in Lochgilphead, Argyll, was a prominent Scottish folklorist and collector of traditional ballads and songs. He is credited with preserving many important works of Scottish oral tradition.

One of the most famous bearers of the name was Ewan MacColl, born in 1915 in Salford, England. He was a renowned folk singer, songwriter, and political activist who was instrumental in the folk revival movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He wrote numerous songs that became part of the canon of modern folk music, including "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".

Other notable individuals with the surname MacColl include Dugald MacColl, a Scottish poet and minister born in 1837 in Argyll, and Sir Norman MacColl, a Scottish journalist and author born in 1843 in Argyll, who served as the editor of several prominent publications in the late 19th century.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Maccoll families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Maccoll surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Argyllshire leads with 27 Maccolls recorded in 1881 and an index of 119.84x.

County Total Index
Argyllshire 27 119.84x
Lanarkshire 23 8.79x
Middlesex 13 1.61x
Ross-shire 11 49.48x
Midlothian 5 4.61x
Inverness-shire 2 8.27x
Perthshire 2 5.51x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Kilninian Kilmore in Argyllshire leads with 19 Maccolls recorded in 1881 and an index of 2753.62x.

Place Total Index
Kilninian Kilmore 19 2753.62x
Barony 8 12.07x
Govan 8 12.36x
Paddington London 8 26.87x
Dalavich 7 11666.67x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 5 11.46x
Gorbals 4 258.06x
Knockbain 4 769.23x
Lochbroom 4 344.83x
Glasgow 3 6.45x
Hackney London 3 6.61x
Callander 2 333.33x
Dingwall 2 317.46x
Kilmallie 1 86.21x
St Marylebone London 1 2.31x
Strath 1 136.99x
Urquhart Glenmoriston 1 147.06x
Urray 1 144.93x
Westminster St James 1 12.02x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Maccoll surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Gertrude 1
Jennie 1
Katie 1
Louisa 1
Maria 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Maccoll surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Malcolm 3
Alan 1
Duncan 1
Ernest 1
John 1
Norman 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Maccoll households.

FAQ

Maccoll surname: questions and answers

How common was the Maccoll surname in 1881?

In 1881, 111 people were recorded with the Maccoll surname. That placed it at #18,597 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Maccoll surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 566 in 2016. That gives Maccoll a modern rank of #9,075.

What does the Maccoll surname mean?

A surname of Scottish origin meaning "son of the servant/disciple".

What does the Maccoll map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Maccoll bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.