Modern Muddles for M'millans
More names, more places, more spellings than most
The Clann an Mhaoil are one of the oldest of Scottish clans, and therefore in theory one of the largest; but because they broke up into far-flung branches relatively early in their history - before surnames became commonly used in the Highlands - many of the “children of Maolan” ended up bearing names other than MacMhaolain or its alternative Gaelic form, MacGhillemhaoil; as explained above. Some of these are recognised today as Septnames of the clan; and amongst these the most important - because the most widespread and numerous - is “Bell”. Though it was widely adopted in the South West Highlands and Islands in the 18th & 19th centuries as an Englished form of MacGilveil/M’Ilvoyle, it’s use as a surname can be traced back to the 13th and 14th century in Perthshire and Galloway, where many bearers of it then were probably also M’millans (Mac-Ghille-mhaoil appears in the second oldest surviving genealogy of the clan - the Leny tree of c.1539 - as Mac-Gili-bile). In certain areas of the Highlands - particularly Argyllshire - Bell and M'millan were used interchangeably as the surnames of the same families, depending on the whims of the Ministers or Session-Clerks making the records, or on the places where the families lived. See the Sept of Bell page on this website.
In addition to having their name “Englished” in this way, some M’millans appear in the 18th, 19th and even the 20th centuries bearing the surnames of other clans, such as Buchanan and Cameron: the first because of the 18th century claim that the clan were a sept of the Buchanans; and the second because the Lochaber branch of the clan followed the Cameron chief. Again there are documented cases in the 18th and 19th centuries of the same families appearing on different occasions, and in different places, as either M'millans or Buchanans; or as M'millans or Camerons. There is even one case in the early 19th century where a set of parents and their children are recorded under all three of these surnames - M'millan, Buchanan and Cameron. Such apparent carelessness about surnames was just that; the Highlander couldn't care less what officials called him, because he was not accustomed to using a surname, though he knew very well what clan he belonged to. It does seem, however, that when emigrating from the Gaidhealtachd (the Gaelic-speaking Highlands) many "Bells", "Buchanans" or "Camerons" realised that their true identity might be lost if they did not insist on M'millan as their surname, so generally speaking the confusion is confined to Scotland; though there are reports of a substantial family of "Camerons" in the Chicago area - sadly unidentified at present - who are really M'millans.
A study of the clan’s history will suggest which alternate names usually apply to which branch in Scotland; and if you are from outside of the old country, from which branch of the M’millans your emigrant ancestor is most likely to have come (since different branches had favoured destinations in the New Worlds).
Even if your ancestors have always, since a surname was first required, used that of the clan, life remains more difficult for the M'millan genealogist than for many others; though all Scottish clans suffer to a greater or lesser extent from the similar problems. Within the Gaelic language there were - as there are today in English - regional variations in accent which led to many different phonetic forms of the same name being recorded over the centuries in different parts of the country. It's important to remember as well that consistency of spelling was not considered a necessary virtue in Scotland - and especially in the Highlands - until our own century; and for these reasons over 190 different spellings of the name M'millan have so far been discovered.
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