This surname of Irish and Scottish origin, is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic patronymic McCullach, 'mac' meaning 'son of' plus 'cullach', 'wild boar'. It is, however, possible that it was originally 'Cu-Uladh' 'Hound or Ulster' which has undergone alteration as a result of folk etymology. The name was translated as Boar in Northern Sligo, sometimes also spelt as Bower. The name dates back to the late 13th Century (see below). Variations in the idiom of the spelling include one Agnes Mc Culloch who was christened in Edinburgh on August 7th 1614. John MacCulloch who married Margaret Troop on July 25th 1690 in Edinburgh and Eliza McCullough who was christened at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster. On June 1st 1846 one James McCulloch, aged thirty three, a famine emigrant, sailed aboard the 'Brooksby' from Glasgow to New York. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Maculagh, which was dated 1296 recorded as 'The Count of Wyggeton (Wigtown)', during the reign of King John Balliol of Scotland, 1292 - 1296. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024