McNab Name Meaning, Origin and Heraldry

McNab is an established spelling of the Scottish surname McNabb. In origin, the name means “The son of the abbot”.

How the spelling arose

McNab drops the “b” of McNabb, a simplification that clerks often made. Related forms: MacNab and MacNabb.

The 2010 census count for McNab in the United States was 1,656, good for rank 17,127. That is enough to place it in the top 25,000 American surnames.

Family crest and blazon

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named McNab, so the heraldry linked to McNabb is a starting point, not an automatic right.

Get the complete McNab report, with a museum-style coat of arms.