The first record of the name was “malcoluim mac molini”, (a Latinized version of the name) who appears in the Book of Deer, a 9th century gospel. The name appears in the margins in a land-grant record from the 12th century. Its now commonly believed that the progenitor of Clan MacMillan was Gilchrist mac Cormac, (Gilcrist, son of Cormac), the powerful bishop of Dunkeld, a diocese taking in large areas in what is now Argyllshire and Perthshire, (Roman Catholic bishops in that era not only married but took on temporal and military duties.) MacMillan (mac Maolan) loosely translates to “son of the tonsured one.” The tonsure refers to the manner in which priests’ heads were shaved. Those taking crusades to Rome or the Holy Land at this time also had tonsures. The latter is likely the reference to the tonsure in the name mac Maolan. See an interactive map of Clan lands.
In 1396 on an island, the “North Inch”, near Perth, Scotland, 30 warriors from two clans met in a duel to the death. More a gladiatorial event than a battle in the conventional sense, this took place in a walled enclosure, watched by much of Scotland’s nobility. While the identity of the two clans has been argued by historians for centuries, its now believed the two were the Macintoshes, representing Clan Chattan, and the MacMillans, possibly representing Clan Cameron and allied clans. The result was eleven MacIntoshes left standing (most of whom would succumb to wounds soon thereafter) and one MacMillan who saved himself by jumping the barrier and swimming the river to safety.
Alexander Graham Bell is well known as the inventor of the telephone. Bell, born in Edinburgh, moving first to Canada, then New England shortly thereafter. Bell is a sept of Clan MacMillan. On March 10, 1876 he made the first telephone transmission, “Mr Watson, come here; I need you.” Bell and a compatriot launched the first manned, heavier than air flight (which crashed) nine days before the Wright Brothers. He was the second president of the National Geographic Society, his father-in-law was the first publisher. Bell’s great-grandson, Gilbert Grosvenor is current president. In 1903 Bell was the first to publish the idea of treating cancer with radium. His last invention was the hydrofoil.
Kirkpatrick MacMillan invented the bicycle in 1839. An article dated June 11 1842 in the Glasgow Courier states: On Wednesday a gentleman who stated that he came from "Thornhill, in Dumfriesshire, was placed at the Gorbals public bar, charged with riding along the pavement on a velocipede (bicycle) to the obstruction of the passage, and with having, by so doing, thrown over a child. It appeared from his statement that he had, on the day previous, come all the way from Old Cumnock, a distance of forty miles, bestriding the velocipede, and that he performed the journey in the space of five hours...The child had not sustained injury and the offender was fined only five shillings." The judge, upon seeing a demonstration of several figure-eights in the courtyard stated "this invention will not supercede the railroad."
See the Clan Centre "Famous MacMillans" page which links from the Clan "History" page.
Left: On one side of MacMillan's Cross, is the oldest known reference to a kilt, pictured at left. The cross was sculpted about 1450, commissioned by clan chief Alexander MacMillan.
Below left: A photo of the Clan Centre's velocipede replica at the 1991 Clan Gathering. Gaelic, the native language of the Scots Highlanders, lacking its own written language, was usually recorded (at least relative to Highland Scots history) in English or Latin. Therefore, a Gaelic name was open to the interpretation of whomever was recording it. Surnames weren’t commonly used during the Medieval era except by nobility.
Below right: The opposite side of the cross in Kilmory Knap where it now resides. This is in Knapdale not far from Castle Sween.
Clan MacMillan International Centre Clan MacMillan Forum
Clan MacMillan International Forum
Listed below are books available from the Clan Centre. See their website "Products & Publications" page for pricing and availability. We don't take orders for these materials from this website.
A Brief Introduction to Clan MacMillan compiled by Clan Centre curator and genealogist, Graeme M. Mackenzie MA
The Rarest Decision Recorded in History: The Battle of the Clans in 1396, by Graeme M. Mackenzie, MA
The Origins And Early History Of The Macmillans And Related Kindreds, by Graeme M. MacKenzie, MA. The first volume of the most comprehensive history of the Clan written to date, covering the origins of the clan to 1500 AD.
Information sheets on septs, and branches of Clan MacMillan are also available from our branch.