Piper mclean biography

This article is about the personal name. For other uses, see McLean (disambiguation).

MacLean, also spelt McLean, is a ScottishGaelic surname (Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John).

The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathain", a patronymic meaning "son of Gillean". Gillean means "the Servant of [Saint] John [the Baptist]"),^[1] named for Gilleathain na Tuaidh, known as "Gillian of the Battleaxe", a famous 5th century warrior.^[2]

Eachan Reaganach and his brother Lachlan were descended from Gilleathain na Tuaidh, and are the progenitors of the clan.

The family grew very powerful throughout the Hebrides and Highlands^[2] through alliances with the Catholic Church in Scotland in the 9th century, the MacDonalds in the 13th century, and the MacKays and MacLeods in the 16th century.^[3] Other spellings of the name include McClean, MacLaine,