MacAlpine: Surname History and Family Crest

MacAlpine is a Scottish surname. Smith's 1956 dictionary gives the meaning “son of Ailpean (elf)”.

Heraldry and the MacAlpine name

Sharing the MacAlpine name is not the same as sharing a crest; arms were granted to individual families.

Where the name comes from

It is a patronymic: it named a person after a father or forebear. The name also appears as MacAlpin.

The Census Bureau's 2010 surname file lists MacAlpine with 365 bearers, at rank 56,073. For the full story, order the MacAlpine surname pack.