McPhail Surname Meaning & Origin
What the McPhail last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the McPhail last name
Meaning of the McPhail last name: the son of Paul (small). Smith's 1956 dictionary treats McPhail as a form of the Scottish surname MacPhail. Smith gives the meaning as the son of Paul (small). Roughly 12,504 people bear the surname McPhail; the United States, Canada and Scotland are among their homes.
Arms associated with the McPhail name
Sharing a surname establishes no coat of arms entitlement; heraldry follows documented individual lineages.
Smith lists McPhail as a variant of MacPhail.
Get your full McPhail family history
This is only a glimpse of the McPhail story. The full McPhail history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted McPhail coat of arms. Get the full McPhail report.
McPhail name FAQ
What does the McPhail name mean?
The son of Paul (small). Common variants include MacPhail.
Where does the McPhail surname come from?
It originates in Scotland, and is also found in the United States and Canada.
Is there a McPhail coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized McPhail coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Elsdon C. Smith, Dictionary of American Family Names (1956), individual surname entries; modern indexed dictionary entries supersede conflicting interpretations.; Forebears, Surnam.es and individual surname distribution references.