Clan Rising

MacDonnell

also McDonnell, MacDonald, Mac Domhnaill

The Hebridean lordship in Ireland, the Glens of Antrim and the Route.

Origin
Ulster, Ireland
Motto
Toujours Prêt
Famous bearer
Sorley Boy MacDonnell (c.1505–1590), lord of the Route, victor at Glentaisie
Register
Irish family

This name is thick on both sides of the border, so the map shows the whole of Britain and Ireland with every region it touches highlighted. It is a regional pattern for the surname, not proof that your branch lived in each place.

Territory of MacDonnell across Ireland and Scotland

CoreHistoric reach

The seat of MacDonnell

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the MacDonnell community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once MacDonnell has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The MacDonnell clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the MacDonnell clan →

Motto

Toujours Prêt

“Always ready”

What does the MacDonnell name mean?

From Mac Domhnaill, son of Domhnall. The Antrim MacDonnells are a cadet branch of the Highland Scots Clan Donald, descended from Eóin Mór Mac Domhnaill, the second son of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, who married Marjorie Bisset of the Glens of Antrim around 1399 and acquired her father's lands. From that union the Mac Domhnaill kings of the Glens and the Route held the north Antrim coast as a Hebridean palatinate of Scotland until 1603, after which they integrated into the Irish peerage as Earls of Antrim.

The history of MacDonnell

The MacDonnells of Antrim are unique among Irish surnames in being directly continuous with a Scottish clan, the Hebridean Clan Donald, who through the 15th and 16th centuries crossed the North Channel routinely as 'gallowglass' (galloglaigh) mercenaries serving the Gaelic Irish kings against the Tudor administration. Sorley Boy MacDonnell (Somhairle Buidhe Mac Domhnaill, c.1505–1590), 'Yellow Sorley' for his fair hair, held the Glens and the Route against successive English lord deputies through the 1560s, '70s and '80s, defeated Shane O'Neill at Glentaisie in 1565, and was finally formally recognised as lord of the Route by Elizabeth I in 1586.

Sorley Boy's son Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim (c.1568–1636), made the family's Tudor-to-Stuart transition successfully. He was knighted by James I in 1603 and elevated to the earldom of Antrim in 1620. The title survives, the current Earl of Antrim, Randal Alexander St John McDonnell (b. 1935), is the 14th, making the Antrim MacDonnells one of the very few Gaelic dynastic lines whose peerage descends in continuous male succession from the Tudor period to the present.

Dunluce Castle on the north Antrim coast, the Mac Domhnaill seat from the 1550s, is one of the most spectacular Gaelic-period ruins in Ireland, built on a basalt sea-stack disconnected from the cliff by a chasm, its kitchen wing fell into the Atlantic in a storm in 1639 with the loss of seven cooks. The ruined silhouette is the cover image of the Led Zeppelin album Houses of the Holy.

Champions of the MacDonnell name

The bearers whose lives are inseparable from this surname. Each has their own page, biography, achievements, geography, connection to the family.

Also found in

The MacDonnell name has substantial historical presence beyond Ireland. See it on Scotland.

Historic Places, Rebuilt

Explore the streets and seats the MacDonnell name knew, rebuilt with AI as they stood in history.

Or recreate your own castle →

Historic Places, Rebuilt · New

Explore Dunluce Castle in 1600Enter →

The MacDonnell stronghold on its Antrim sea-stack, whole and inhabited, Clan Donald astride the North Channel.

Castles the MacDonnell held

Strongholds this name held for a decade or more, look one up, or rebuild it to explore.

  • Dunluce Castle

    Seized by the MacDonnells of Antrim in the 1550s.

  • Dunseverick Castle

    Held by the McDonnells after the O'Cahans, until the castle's 17th-century destruction.

  • Kinbane Castle

    Built in 1547 by Colla MacDonnell; his brother Sorley Boy MacDonnell later acquired it.

  • Glenarm Castle

    Held by the MacDonnell Earls of Antrim since Sir Randal MacDonnell built the present castle in 1636; the family has been at Glenarm for nearly 600 years.

  • Red Bay Castle

    Acquired through John Mor MacDonald's marriage to Margery Bissett; the MacDonnells rebuilt it and restored it in the early 17th century.

The castles of the homeland

The great strongholds of the homeland, look one up, see what it looked like in its prime, and recreate it to explore.

Ashford Castle, County Mayo, IrelandAshford Castle, County MayoRestored · prime 1880Manderley Castle, IrelandManderley CastleRestored · prime 1840Dublin Castle, IrelandDublin CastleRestored · prime 1790

All castles in Ireland → · Strongest castles in Ireland → · Castles of Europe

Play As Your Clan

Explore history as a MacDonnellStart your story →

Pick any year from 500 to 1945 and any place on earth, the MacDonnell country, or a shore no MacDonnell ever reached. The chronicler sets the scene; the deeds are yours.

Notable bearers of the MacDonnell name

  • Sorley Boy MacDonnell (c.1505–1590), lord of the Route, victor at Glentaisie
  • Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim (c.1568–1636)
  • Alasdair Mac Colla (1610–1647), MacDonnell-Hebridean general, Confederate Ireland and Royalist Scotland

Frequently asked

What does the surname MacDonnell mean?

From Mac Domhnaill, son of Domhnall. The Antrim MacDonnells are a cadet branch of the Highland Scots Clan Donald, descended from Eóin Mór Mac Domhnaill, the second son of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, who married Marjorie Bisset of the Glens of Antrim around 1399 and acquired her father's lands. From that union the Mac Domhnaill kings of the Glens and the Route held the north Antrim coast as a Hebridean palatinate of Scotland until 1603, after which they integrated into the Irish peerage as Earls of Antrim. The MacDonnells of Antrim are unique among Irish surnames in being directly continuous with a Scottish clan, the Hebridean Clan Donald, who through the 15th and 16th centuries crossed the North Channel routinely as 'gallowglass' (galloglaigh) mercenaries serving the Gaelic Irish kings against the Tudor administration.

Where does the MacDonnell family come from?

The MacDonnell family is rooted in Ulster, in Ireland. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Antrim. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Where did the MacDonnell family historically hold territory?

At its greatest historical extent, the MacDonnell name has been concentrated in Derry and Down. The atlas page distinguishes the core territory of the name from this wider historical reach with hatched silhouettes on the map.

Is MacDonnell Irish or Scottish?

MacDonnell is a Irish surname; its home on this atlas is Ireland, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated. The name also has a substantial historical presence in Scotland, cross-linked on the page under "Also found in", but the record is densest in Ireland.

How old is the MacDonnell surname?

The MacDonnells of Antrim are unique among Irish surnames in being directly continuous with a Scottish clan, the Hebridean Clan Donald, who through the 15th and 16th centuries crossed the North Channel routinely as 'gallowglass' (galloglaigh) mercenaries serving the Gaelic Irish kings against the Tudor administration. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the MacDonnell name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the MacDonnell family known for?

The Hebridean lordship in Ireland, the Glens of Antrim and the Route. The MacDonnells of Antrim are unique among Irish surnames in being directly continuous with a Scottish clan, the Hebridean Clan Donald, who through the 15th and 16th centuries crossed the North Channel routinely as 'gallowglass' (galloglaigh) mercenaries serving the Gaelic Irish kings against the Tudor administration.

What is the MacDonnell motto?

The motto of the MacDonnell family is "Toujours Prêt", which translates as "Always ready". Family mottoes were registered with the chief of the name and carried on the heraldic arms and battle-banners.

What does "Toujours Prêt" mean in English?

"Toujours Prêt" is the motto of the MacDonnell family. In English it means "Always ready". The phrase is typically rendered in Latin, though some Highland families carry their motto in Gaelic and some Norman lines in Old French.

Is there a MacDonnell family crest or coat of arms?

There is no single coat of arms that belongs to everyone named MacDonnell. Heraldic arms were granted to individuals and descend through specific documented lines, so a "family crest" matched to a surname alone is decorative rather than genealogical. The motto associated with the principal line is "Toujours Prêt".

Who is the most famous MacDonnell?

The best-known bearer of the MacDonnell name is Sorley Boy MacDonnell (c.1505–1590), lord of the Route, victor at Glentaisie. Other prominent figures of the family include Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim (c.1568–1636) and Alasdair Mac Colla (1610–1647), MacDonnell-Hebridean general, Confederate Ireland and Royalist Scotland.

Who are some famous MacDonnells?

Notable bearers of the MacDonnell name include Sorley Boy MacDonnell (c.1505–1590), lord of the Route, victor at Glentaisie, Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim (c.1568–1636) and Alasdair Mac Colla (1610–1647), MacDonnell-Hebridean general, Confederate Ireland and Royalist Scotland. Each is profiled on the family page, with cross-links to the geography, stories, and historical events tied to their life.

Is McDonnell the same family as MacDonnell?

Yes. McDonnell is a historical spelling variant of the MacDonnell name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is MacDonald the same family as MacDonnell?

Yes. MacDonald is a historical spelling variant of the MacDonnell name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is Mac Domhnaill the same family as MacDonnell?

Yes. Mac Domhnaill is a historical spelling variant of the MacDonnell name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the MacDonnell surname found today?

Ireland is the primary historical home of the MacDonnell surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same Ireland origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the MacDonnell family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the MacDonnell family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, the family motto, famous bearers of the name and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of Ireland so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the MacDonnell family today?

The seat for the head of the MacDonnell family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.

A note from the editors

  • Cross-border with Scotland: Clan Donald is the Highland senior line. The 'Also found in' cross-link block will surface this entry alongside its Scottish home once the catalogue ships.

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Neighbouring clans