Explore the Family Name Mcclellan

The meaning of Mcclellan

Scottish and northern Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaolain (Scottish) and Mac Giolla Fhaoláin (Irish) ‘son of the servant (i.e. devotee) of (Saint) Faolán’, a personal name representing a diminutive of faol ‘wolf’. See also McLellan, compare Whelan.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Mcclellan in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Mcclellan has seen a slight fluctuation in its popularity over the decade from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Mcclellan was ranked as the 1,294th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had slipped slightly to 1,356th place, a decrease of around 4.79%. Despite this, the actual count of individuals with the surname increased from 24,986 in 2000 to 26,060 in 2010, demonstrating a growth of 4.3%. However, when assessing the proportion of people named Mcclellan per 100,000 population, there was a minor decline of 4.64%, dropping from 9.26 in 2000 to 8.83 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#1,294#1,356-4.79%
Count24,98626,0604.3%
Proportion per 100k9.268.83-4.64%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Mcclellan

Concerning ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows changes across diverse ethnic backgrounds for the Mcclellan surname between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of those identifying as White decreased from 82.25% down to 81.00%, while the proportion of those identifying as Black showed a slight increase from 13.20% to 13.53%. The Hispanic portion exhibited the most pronounced growth, increasing by 40.14% from 1.47% to 2.06%. Meanwhile, the fraction of people identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander also rose, albeit less dramatically, from 0.42% to 0.54%. Those reporting two or more races climbed from 1.64% to 1.93%. However, the proportion of individuals identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native saw a drop of 6.93%, falling from 1.01% to 0.94%.

20002010Change
White82.25%81%-1.52%
Black13.2%13.53%2.5%
Hispanic1.47%2.06%40.14%
Two or More Races1.64%1.93%17.68%
American Indian and Alaskan Native1.01%0.94%-6.93%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.42%0.54%28.57%

Mcclellan ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Mcclellan is British & Irish, which comprises 52.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (24.3%) and Eastern European (4.0%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Nigerian, Spanish & Portuguese, Italian, and Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish52.8%
French & German24.3%
Eastern European4.0%
Other18.9%
Mcclellan

Possible origins of the surname Mcclellan

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Mcclellan have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater London, United Kingdom86.90%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom86.70%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom86.50%
Merseyside, United Kingdom86.50%
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom86.40%

What Mcclellan haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Mcclellan is R-CTS2501, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-CTS2501 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-M222 and R-S675, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Mcclelland, Donaldson, Dorsey, O'Donnell, Magee, Major, Gillespie, Gorman, Mcbride, Murray.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Mcclellan surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

mcclellanPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Mcclellan have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Mcclellan

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Mcclellan" Surname 38.7%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Mcclellan

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Mcclellan" Surname 23.0%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Mcclellan

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Mcclellan" Surname 23.0%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Mcclellan

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Mcclellan" Surname 19.6%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Mcclellan?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Mcclellan are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%