McCandlish (/mɪkˈkænd.lɪʃ/, mik-CAND-lish is Scottish surname (and rarely also a given name), derived from Scottish Gaelic and Middle Irish Mac Cuindlis (among other spellings), meaning 'son of Cuindleas', an Old Irish given name of uncertain meaning.[2]
 McCandlish red tartan[1] | |
| Pronunciation | /mɪkˈkænd.lɪʃ/ |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | Anglicised Scottish Gaelic |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | 'Son of Cuindleas' |
| Region of origin | |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | McAndlish, McCanleis, McCaunles,[2] McCandleish,[3] and many others |
Variants
Some variants include McAndlish,[2] McCanalish, McCandelich, McCandelish, McCandish, McCandlash, and McCandleis, among others. Spellings with Mac were believed to be extinct by the first half of the 20th century,[2] but still survive among a few families, primarily in the United States and Canada.[4] As with other names of this sort, versions with M' were also attested until the early 20th century.[2][3]
The name is closely related to McCandless (from the same derivation), found in Scotland and especially the north of Ireland (Ulster).[5][6] Some recorded north Irish variants are more similar to McCandlish, e.g. McCandleish,[3] while some Scottish variants are closer to McCandless, e.g. McCanleis and McCaunles.[2] McCandlish itself has also sometimes historically been attested in Northern Ireland.[7]
It is etymologically but probably not familially related to Ó Cuindlis, 'descendant of Cuindlis', a literary family of Uí Mháine in west-central Ireland.[5][8][9] The earliest form of the given name can be traced back to an abbot from the 8th century called Cuindles.[10][11][8]
Surname
- Benjamin McCandlish (1886–1975), United States Navy flag officer; 36th naval governor of Guam
- Edward Gerstell McCandlish (1887–1946), American illustrator, mapmaker, toymaker, and author of the Bunny Tots series of children's books (1920s); perhaps best known for illustrating Laboulaye's Fairy Book
- John Edward Chalmers McCandlish CB CBE (1901–1974), British Army major-general
- John MacGregor McCandlish (1821–1901), Scottish lawyer; first president of the Faculty of Actuaries
- Mackey McCandlish, animator, game designer, and co-creator of Blahbalicious
- Margherita McCandlish née Wood (1892–1954), former first lady of Guam, wife of Benjamin
- William McCandlish, British dog breeder
Given name
- McCandlish Phillips (1927–2013), American journalist and evangelist
See also
- Candlish, a derived Scottish surname
- McCandless (surname), a more common Scots-Irish form of the name, primarily found in the north of Ireland
- Ó Cuindlis, a west Irish surname dating to the 14th century; anglicized as Conlisk, Cundlish, Quinlist, and several other variants
References
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