Where We Come From, vol. 5

Still another legend says that the McCullochs took their name from a warrior who in the Crusades carried the device of a wild boar (which in Gaelic is cullach) on his shield and distinguished himself in the Holy Land with his gallantry and daring. On his return, William the Lion, in reward for Cullach’s martial [...]

Where We Come From, vol. 4

The last baronet was Sir Godfrey McCullouch of Ardwall. He was beheaded at Edinburgh on March 26, 1697 for shooting William Gourdon. The clan members left the area in large numbers and migrated to Ireland and North America. The primary area of settlement in Ireland was Ulster, principally in the counties of Antrim, Down, and [...]

Where We Come From, vol. 3

Much obscurity enshrouds the true origins of the ancient McCullough name. McCulloughs are said to be descended from Somerled through his second son Reginald Somerled was a leading figure in the western Highlands and islands of Scotland in 1130 A.D. when he defeated the Norse and became King of the Isles. His oldest son, Dougall, [...]

Where We Come From, vol. 2

There is some evidence that a treating of Mac Con Uladh (son of the hound of Ulster) gives MacAnully, MacNully, MacAnaul, MacCullow etc., but not MacCullough as a modern or early anglicised form. The Irish form of MacCullough is Mac Colla (sometimes Mac Collach) derived from Colla, a personal name in use in MacDonnell and [...]

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 [...]

Our Name

Scottish names which include Mac, Mc or M’ are always spelled Mac in full followed by a capital letter, except where the name refers to an individual who has stated a preference by spelling his name in some other way. In Gaelic, Mac and the name are two separate words.
Here is a collection of many [...]