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Hey all, I have hit a dead end. I am trying like hell to figure out the origin of my husband's surname. I have seen it written as Mackender, Machinder and McKinder (this is usually an American corruption) in historical records. Mackinders are highly concentrated in Lincolnshire, back to about the 1600s.
That's about as far as I get. I am guessing it's a corruption/offshoot of a Scottish surname, but damned if I can figure out which one. One spurious source claims it's derived from the "ancient Gaelic" Mac en Dior, meaning "Son of Pilgrim".
The site goes on to say the name is related to the names McIndeor/MacIndewar/Mackindewar recorded with various spellings.
Does anyone know if this information is remotely accurate? I can see how MacKinder could be easily corrupted from MacEntyre as well. If anyone has solid information on this, I would really appreciate it!
That's about as far as I get. I am guessing it's a corruption/offshoot of a Scottish surname, but damned if I can figure out which one. One spurious source claims it's derived from the "ancient Gaelic" Mac en Dior, meaning "Son of Pilgrim".
The site goes on to say the name is related to the names McIndeor/MacIndewar/Mackindewar recorded with various spellings.
Does anyone know if this information is remotely accurate? I can see how MacKinder could be easily corrupted from MacEntyre as well. If anyone has solid information on this, I would really appreciate it!
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The information you found on the origin of Mackinder appears to be accurate. It stems from Black's The Surnames of Scotland where you'll find it listed under Macindeor with the meaning 'son of the pilgrim'. Some of this information is replicated at http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/mackinder. The 'pilgrim' part appears alone in the surname Dewar (see http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/dewar).
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Yes, the accepted explanation is the one cited by you and Marc, but the distribution is problematic.
It appears that the word pilgrim may not be a literal description. Deor (Deoraih, Dewar) was, in some instances at least, a religious office. The Dewar was the keeper of the relic of a saint, usually connected to a particular clan. His function was to take the relic to any gathering or ceremony where its presence was required. So his travelling around the country on a holy mission resulted in his being called 'pilgrim'.
In the Highlands the name Macandeor became Dewar (actually a Lowland Scottish place name). The Dewar of Glendochart, in Perthshire, was the keeper of the crozier of St. Fillan.
It appears that the word pilgrim may not be a literal description. Deor (Deoraih, Dewar) was, in some instances at least, a religious office. The Dewar was the keeper of the relic of a saint, usually connected to a particular clan. His function was to take the relic to any gathering or ceremony where its presence was required. So his travelling around the country on a holy mission resulted in his being called 'pilgrim'.
In the Highlands the name Macandeor became Dewar (actually a Lowland Scottish place name). The Dewar of Glendochart, in Perthshire, was the keeper of the crozier of St. Fillan.
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"Deoraih" in the above is a misspelling. It should be deoraidh or deoridh.
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