NameCensus.

UK surname

Mclagan

A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic Mac Lachlainn meaning "son of Lachlann".

In the 1881 census there were 418 people recorded with the Mclagan surname, ranking it #7,718 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 290, ranked #15,099, down from #7,718 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Clunie, Rattray and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Blairgowrie West, Blairgowrie East (Rattray) and Fankerton, Stoneywood and Denny Town.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Mclagan is 471 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 30.6%.

1881 census count

418

Ranked #7,718

Modern count

290

2016, ranked #15,099

Peak year

1901

471 bearers

Map years

8

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Mclagan had 418 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,718 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 290 in 2016, ranked #15,099.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 471 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities.

Mclagan surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Mclagan surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Mclagan 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 380 #6,284
1861 historical 335 #7,610
1881 historical 418 #7,718
1891 historical 420 #8,528
1901 historical 471 #8,420
1911 historical 54 #27,423
1997 modern 286 #13,942
1998 modern 289 #14,208
1999 modern 286 #14,412
2000 modern 289 #14,272
2001 modern 270 #14,734
2002 modern 279 #14,693
2003 modern 279 #14,506
2004 modern 284 #14,377
2005 modern 288 #14,189
2006 modern 281 #14,500
2007 modern 290 #14,372
2008 modern 283 #14,724
2009 modern 292 #14,700
2010 modern 286 #15,231
2011 modern 276 #15,471
2012 modern 288 #14,934
2013 modern 294 #14,961
2014 modern 290 #15,203
2015 modern 288 #15,190
2016 modern 290 #15,099

Geography

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Where Mclagans are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Clunie, Rattray, Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry and Perth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Blairgowrie West, Blairgowrie East (Rattray), Fankerton, Stoneywood and Denny Town, Stenhousemuir West and Aberuthven and Almondbank. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Clunie Perth
2 Rattray Perth
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
5 Perth Perth

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Blairgowrie West Perth and Kinross
2 Blairgowrie East (Rattray) Perth and Kinross
3 Fankerton, Stoneywood and Denny Town Falkirk
4 Stenhousemuir West Falkirk
5 Aberuthven and Almondbank Perth and Kinross

Forenames

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First names often paired with Mclagan

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Mclagan

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Mclagan, 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

Legacy Communities

Group

Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities

Nationally, the Mclagan surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Legacy and Demographically Mixed Communities, within Legacy Communities. This does not mean every Mclagan household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Households in these areas often include divorced or separated parents and commonly include children and young adults. The age structure is heavily skewed towards the most advanced age groups. Individuals identifying as members of ethnic minorities are not present in large numbers. Flats predominate, with some terraced, semi-detached, and detached units. Multiple car ownership is low, and housing is predominantly in the private and social rented sectors. Employment is less skewed towards traditional routine industrial occupations. Levels of educational attainment are generally low. The Group occurs principally in the Central Lowlands of Scotland and other Scottish towns.

Wider pattern

These neighbourhoods characteristically comprise pockets of flats that are scattered across the UK, particularly in towns that retain or have legacies of heavy industry or are in more remote seaside locations. Employed residents of these neighbourhoods work mainly in low-skilled occupations. Residents typically have limited educational qualifications. Unemployment is above average. Some residents live in overcrowded housing within the social rented sector and experience long-term disability. All adult age groups are represented, although there is an overall age bias towards elderly people in general and the very old in particular. Individuals identifying as belonging to ethnic minorities or Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups are uncommon.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Mclagan 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

Mclagan 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

Mclagan 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 Mclagan is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

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

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Mclagan

The surname MCLAGAN is of Scottish origin and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is a variant of the name MacLachlan, which is believed to be derived from the Scottish Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "Lachainn," which was a personal name derived from the word "lochann" meaning "lake."

The name is associated with the clan MacLachlan, which originated in the region of Argyll and the Isles in western Scotland. The clan's ancestral lands were located around Loch Fyne and Loch Awe, which may explain the connection to the word "lochann" in the name's etymology.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name MCLAGAN can be found in the Book of Clanranald, a manuscript from the 16th century that chronicles the history of the Lords of the Isles. The name is also found in various Scottish charters and records from the 13th and 14th centuries, indicating its early presence in the region.

Among the notable historical figures with the surname MCLAGAN, there is Sir Alan MacLagan (1734-1818), a Scottish soldier and landowner who served in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. Another prominent individual was Reverend Thomas MacLagan (1788-1866), a Scottish minister and author who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1851.

In the field of medicine, Dr. Thomas John MacLagan (1838-1903) was a Scottish physician and author who made significant contributions to the study of materia medica and therapeutics. He served as the President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh from 1897 to 1900.

The surname MCLAGAN can also be found in literary circles, with Sir Eric Robertson MacLagan (1879-1951), a Scottish writer and literary critic who wrote several works on Scottish literature and culture.

Another notable figure was Sir Robert Craig MacLagan (1870-1952), a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as the Lord Justice Clerk, the second highest judicial position in Scotland, from 1935 to 1945.

While the spelling MCLAGAN is less common than MacLachlan, it remains a distinct variant of the name with a rich history and connections to the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Mclagan families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Mclagan 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. Northumberland leads with 6 Mclagans recorded in 1881 and an index of 59.23x.

County Total Index
Northumberland 6 59.23x
Middlesex 1 1.47x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Elswick in Northumberland leads with 6 Mclagans recorded in 1881 and an index of 740.74x.

Place Total Index
Elswick 6 740.74x
Christ Church Newgate 1 3333.33x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Ellen 1
Florence 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Henry 2
Oscar 1
William 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 Mclagan households.

Occupation Count
Scholar 4
Schoolmaster 1
Wife 1

FAQ

Mclagan surname: questions and answers

How common was the Mclagan surname in 1881?

In 1881, 418 people were recorded with the Mclagan surname. That placed it at #7,718 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Mclagan surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 290 in 2016. That gives Mclagan a modern rank of #15,099.

What does the Mclagan surname mean?

A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic Mac Lachlainn meaning "son of Lachlann".

What does the Mclagan map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Mclagan 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.