Scottish Origins

(Map viewing tips)

Population and by extension, surname distributions, are

the product of historic, economic, cultural and

biological processes.

Failing the impact of dramatic events, once established

in a region, a surname will tend to remain and intensify.

This is not to say a surname cannot undergo change. In

the 18th century the inexorable shift from rural areas to

the urban metropolis began, and during the 19th

century this process accelerated as railways began to

reshape the landscape. Consequently the shift of

population to urban areas has tended to obscure the

essential origin and stability of surname distributions.

A first task will be to identify those areas which have

long term roots which may be under represented by

19th century surname distributions.

As noted previously by Black et al, the McClure

surname is focused in the east coastal Lowlands.

However the 1881 census identifies the Glasgow

metropolitan region as the region with the greatest

number of McClure’s. This is not unexpected

considering that by the late 19th century Glasgow was

the industrial heartland of Scotland.

To eliminate the distortion of the Glasgow metropolitan

region, we will use a “relative” index. We can measure

the population in each census area  per 100,000

population. Standardizing the  distribution in this way

shifts the focus away from Glasgow to central Ayrshire

and to Galloway (Wigtownshire and Kirkbrightshire).

This is much more consistent with the Etymology

outlined by Black, MacLysaght and Bell.

One further measure can be used to identify the

McClure surnames intensity. We can compare the local

distribution with the national distribution using the

“Banwell index.” With this index  a value of 5 means the

population is 5 times as concentrated in the local area

when compared with the national distribution. This

approach emphasizes Galloway and central Ayrshire

where the surname is almost 80 times the National

Average.

To Identify the persistence of the McClure surname,

records from the past are compared with the 1881

census. Old Parish records, (Births and Marriages), can

be compared with the regions of highest intensity. In

this instance records covering the period 1600 - 1750 are

broken into 50 year cohorts. The persistence of the

surname as far back as the 17th century is confirmed by

the old parish registers. The Covenanter list provides an

additional confirmation of the surnames presence in the

SW lowlands. Between 1633 and 1655 24 McClures 

signed the Covenant, the majority in the South West

Core.

Surname authorities, Black and Bell, identify

Wigtownshire and Ayrshire as the historic home of the

McClure surname. It appears to have been well

established in the region by the 16th century, as

evidenced by Blacks exemplars and the old parish

records.

Importantly it is clear, at least in this case, that the 19th

century distributions adjusted for urbanization are

reliable predictors of the Scottish homeland of the

“Scots Irish”.

Their migration to the new world in the 17th and 18th

century began by first crossing the narrow sea between

Ulster and the Scottish Lowlands from Wigtownshire

and Ayrshire.

Return to top