MacLeod
/məˈklaʊd/noun
A Scottish surname belonging to a Highland clan traditionally associated with the Isle of Skye and the Outer Hebrides.
Did you know?MacLeod comes from Scottish Gaelic Mac Leòid, and its personal name Leòd is widely connected with the Norse name Ljótr, although the exact identification remains debated by scholars.
Etymological Timeline
Viking Age
Old Norse
Ljótr
“A personal name interpreted as “ugly,” “repulsive,” or possibly “frightening”; its connection to Leòd is probable but not certain.”
Medieval Period
Norse-Gaelic
Leódr / Leòd
“The personal name adopted and reshaped in the Norse-Gaelic culture of the Hebrides and western Scotland.”
12th–13th Century
Scottish Gaelic
Mac Leòid
““Son of Leòd,” a patronymic identifying a male descendant of Leòd.”
14th Century
Scots
MakLeod / McLeod
“Early Scots forms of the Gaelic clan surname.”
Modern English
English
MacLeod
“A Scottish family name associated with Clan MacLeod.”