Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Scanlon

Surname list

Scanlon is an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Scannláin, meaning "descendant of Scannlán", and is a variant of the name Ó Scannail derived from the Irish word scannal, originally meaning quarrel, contention, fight, and later, scandal.

There are three quite distinct septs or clans, the first and primary sept being the Ó Scannail (Scannell) (originally Scannal), who belong to West Munster and specifically the Counties of Kerry, Cork, and Limerick. The other two septs derived from Ó Scannail, and their descendants are now known as Scanlan and Scanlon. One sept is O'Scannlain of Munster and the other is McScannlain of Oriel, County Louth, neither of which has retained the prefix O or Mc in modern times. The latter are perpetuated in the placename Ballymacscanlon near Dundalk. The widespread distribution of these names is indicated by the fact that there are six Ballyscanlans in Ireland as well as a Scanlansland and a Scanlan's Island. Two of these are in County Clare and one in Mayo, which lends colour to the statement that there was also a North Connacht Sept of O'Scanlan.

Notable people with the name include:

Watch videos about ScanlonExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Scanlon, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.