Given name & surname
Maclean
“the son of John's servant”
Maclean is a variant of Maclaine. One interpretation is “the son of John's servant.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Maclean is a variant of Maclaine. One interpretation is “the son of John's servant.”
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1987. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Maclean through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 291
- 291 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1998
- 23 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 23 in 1998. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 389 as a first name in 2020; 7,163 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Maclean’s family of names
Maclean has a related form in Maclaine. In English usage, Maclean as a surname has a related form in LEAN. In English usage, Maclean as a surname has a related form in McLean.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 5
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Maclean
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Maclean, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Macgregor
“the son of Gregor”
>99% boys
Maccoy
“the son of Hugh”
>99% boys
Mackay
“the son of fire”
>99% boys
Macauley
“the son of righteousness”
>99% boys
Macaulay
“the son of righteousness”
>99% boys
Duryea
“an enduring man”
>99% boys
Macallister
“the son of Alistair”
>99% boys
Ernan
>99% boys