Where We Come From, vol. 1
The surname McCullough appears to be patronymical in origin and is an old Galwegian name (Galwegian means inhabitant of Galloway, Scotland). Research may indicate that the original name means ’son of the boar’ and was derived from the Gaelic word culagh. To the Celts, the boar was a symbol of fearlessness in battle and was used as a synonym of McCullough.
The McCullough name first appears in the Ragman Roll of 1296 when Thomas Maculagh (or Mackulagh) del counte de Wyggetone, as the sheriff of Wigtownshire, Scotland, rendered homage to king Edward I. The Ragman Roll is now in the Tower of London Archives. Also signing the roll were the chieftain brothers of Michael and William. All three were prominent supporters of the powerful Balliol faction which was opposed to Robert the Bruce. When Robert the Bruce gained Galloway for the Scottish Crown, the Balliols and their McCulloch supporters were driven out. There is no reason however to term these McCullochs as traitors to their country as John Balliol’s mother, Devorguilla, was a daughter of Alan, the last hereditary Lord of Galloway. It was only to be expected that Gallovidian families should support the Balliol cause, and when Balliol submitted to the English King, his followers, of course, did likewise.
Other early McCulloughs include Sir Patrick McCoulagh (or McCullagh) and Gilbert McCoulaghe in Galloway, Scotland in 1354. Records show that Sir Patrick McCoulagh was awarded “100 marks in recompense of his suffering and loss of lands in Scotland for his allegiance to the King of England in 1360.” This showed their their staunch support of the Balliols and the King of England. Three years later, in 1363, Patrick’s son, Sir Patrick McCulloch, had the family’s Scottish lands restored to him by King David II of Scotland, a final sign that the family had regained the King’s trust and favour. Patrick (sometimes spelled Mackullouch) was listed as being the vicar of Arbroath, Scotland.
Petty’s “census” of Ireland reveals that when MacCullough and variants was listed as among the principal Irish names in the baronies of Antrim, Belfast, Carrickfergus and Toome in Co. Antrim and Lower Iveagh in Co. Down. In the previous century the Annals of Loch Cé tell us that Seamus Mac Con Uladh was killed at Dunbo (near Coleraine) in 1532. This name is given by the learned editor in his index as MacCullagh. Today in Ulster about one-third use the -agh ending and most of the remainder the -ough, although MacCullow and MacCulloch are also found. The -ough spelling is very much more common in counties Antrim and Down, but it must be remembered that the spellings do not necessarily denote the origins of any particular family. Although there are still many McCulloughs (with various spellings) in Scotland, the greatest concentration of McCulloughs in the British Isles are in Northern Ireland, There are approximately 5,000 McCulloughs with various name spellings in Northern Ireland today.
