Scanlon — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Scannláin
Meaning: 'descendant of Scannlán'
Traditional stronghold: Cork, Sligo
Pronunciation: SKAN-lun; Irish Ó Scannláin: oh SKON-lawn
History of the Scanlon name
Ó Scannláin derives from Scannlán, a diminutive of the early personal name Scannal, usually explained as 'contention' or 'quarrel'. Several unrelated septs bore it: in north Connacht the Ó Scannláin were an ecclesiastical family of the Sligo region; in Munster septs of the name held lands in Cork and in Kerry, where Ballyscanlan-type placenames mark their presence; and a Fermanagh family were erenaghs at Devenish. The spellings Scanlan and Scanlon are used interchangeably, with Scanlon now the more common overall. The name is well scattered - Sligo, Mayo, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Clare all have old concentrations - and it travelled heavily to Britain and America in the nineteenth century.
Variants: Scanlan · O'Scanlan · Scanlin
Famous bearers of the name
- Michael Scanlan — Limerick-born Fenian poet remembered for The Bold Fenian Men and The Jackets Green.
- Patricia Scanlan — Best-selling Dublin novelist, author of City Girl.
- Hugh Scanlon — Powerful British engineering union leader of the 1960s and 70s, later Baron Scanlon.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · O'Sullivan · McCarthy · Daly · Collins · Flynn · Healy · McGowan