| MacLeod and McLeod ( mə-KLOWD) are surnames in the English language.
Generally, the names are considered to be Anglicised forms of the Scottish Gaelic MacLeòid, meaning "son of Leòd".One of the earliest occurrences of the surname is of Gillandres MacLeod, in 1227. There are two recognised Scottish clans with the surname: Clan MacLeod of Harris and Skye, and Clan MacLeod of Lewis and Raasay. The earliest record of these two families, using a form of the surname MacLeod, occurs in the mid 14th century.
There are also documented cases of Scottish missionaries in Canada using McLeod as an Anglicisation of the indigenous Cree language name Mahkiyoc (meaning "the big one"), which accounts for its occurrence amongst Canadian people of Cree heritage. |
