Clan Mellon

also Mac Mellan, O'Mellan

Ulster Scot banking dynasty that ran America's Treasury under three presidents.

Origin: Scotland
Famous bearer: Thomas Mellon (1813-1908), judge and founder of T. Mellon & Sons bank
Register: Scottish clan

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Territory of Mellon

The seat of Clan Mellon

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Clan Mellon 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 Clan Mellon has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

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

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What does the Mellon name mean?

From the Gaelic 'Maol' or 'Maolán', meaning tonsured one or devotee, an ecclesiastical byname originally borne in both Scotland and the Gaelic north of Ireland. The Mellon line of historical significance is the Scotch-Irish or Ulster Scot branch from County Tyrone, descendants of Scottish Lowland Presbyterian settlers planted in Ulster from the early 17th century. The family emigrated to America in 1818 and founded one of the central financial and industrial dynasties of the United States.

The history of Clan Mellon

The Mellons traced their line to Castletown, County Tyrone, where the family had been Scotch-Irish Presbyterian farmers for several generations after the Plantation of Ulster. Thomas Mellon (1813-1908) emigrated to Pittsburgh in 1818 as a five-year-old with his parents and went on to qualify as a lawyer and judge before founding T. Mellon & Sons private bank in 1869, the foundation of the family's modern fortune.

Thomas's son Andrew William Mellon (1855-1937) carried the bank into the early 20th century and built around it one of the largest industrial empires of the period: founder and majority owner of Gulf Oil, the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA), and substantial stakes in Pittsburgh Coal, McClintic-Marshall Construction, Carborundum and a dozen other corporations. He served as US Secretary of the Treasury continuously from 1921 to 1932 under Presidents Harding, Coolidge and Hoover, the longest-serving Treasury Secretary in American history except for Albert Gallatin.

The next generation of the family extended the dynasty's industrial and philanthropic reach. Richard King Mellon (1899-1970) led the postwar industrial redevelopment of Pittsburgh and founded the Richard King Mellon Foundation. Paul Mellon (1907-1999), Andrew's son, was one of the great American art collectors of the 20th century and founded the Yale Center for British Art at New Haven and donated the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Andrew's nephew William Larimer Mellon Jr. founded the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Haiti.

Mellon Bank continues today as part of The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), one of the largest custodian banks in the world. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation remains among the largest American grant-making philanthropies. Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, formed by the 1967 merger of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, carries the family name in its title.

Also found in

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

Notable bearers of the Mellon name

Thomas Mellon (1813-1908), judge and founder of T. Mellon & Sons bank
Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937), US Secretary of the Treasury 1921-1932, founder of Gulf Oil and ALCOA
Richard B. Mellon (1858-1933), Mellon Bank president, Andrew's brother and business partner
Richard King Mellon (1899-1970), industrialist and Pittsburgh civic leader
Paul Mellon (1907-1999), philanthropist and art collector, founder of the Yale Center for British Art

Frequently asked

What does the surname Mellon mean?

Is Mellon a Scotland surname?

Mellon is primarily a Scotland surname; it also has substantial historical presence in Ireland. The editorial home of the name in this atlas is Scotland, where the record is densest, with the cross-border presence noted under "Also found in".

How old is the Mellon surname?

The Mellons traced their line to Castletown, County Tyrone, where the family had been Scotch-Irish Presbyterian farmers for several generations after the Plantation of Ulster. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Mellon name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Mellon family known for?

Ulster Scot banking dynasty that ran America's Treasury under three presidents. The Mellons traced their line to Castletown, County Tyrone, where the family had been Scotch-Irish Presbyterian farmers for several generations after the Plantation of Ulster.

Who is the most famous Mellon?

The best-known bearer of the Mellon name is Thomas Mellon (1813-1908), judge and founder of T. Mellon & Sons bank. Other prominent figures of the family include Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937), US Secretary of the Treasury 1921-1932, founder of Gulf Oil and ALCOA, Richard B. Mellon (1858-1933), Mellon Bank president, Andrew's brother and business partner and Richard King Mellon (1899-1970), industrialist and Pittsburgh civic leader.

Who are some famous Mellons?

Notable bearers of the Mellon name include Thomas Mellon (1813-1908), judge and founder of T. Mellon & Sons bank, Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937), US Secretary of the Treasury 1921-1932, founder of Gulf Oil and ALCOA, Richard B. Mellon (1858-1933), Mellon Bank president, Andrew's brother and business partner, Richard King Mellon (1899-1970), industrialist and Pittsburgh civic leader and Paul Mellon (1907-1999), philanthropist and art collector, founder of the Yale Center for British Art. Each is profiled on the family page, with cross-links to the geography, stories, and historical events tied to their life.

Is Mac Mellan the same family as Mellon?

Yes. Mac Mellan is a historical spelling variant of the Mellon 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 O'Mellan the same family as Mellon?

Yes. O'Mellan is a historical spelling variant of the Mellon 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 Mellon surname found today?

Scotland is the primary historical home of the Mellon 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 Scotland origin recorded on this page.

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

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

Who is the head of the Mellon family today?

The seat for the head of the Mellon 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.