Macphuns

Macphuns is a surname of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic patronymic prefix “Mac”, meaning “son of”, combined with a personal name that has been suggested to be a diminutive of “Finn” or related to the word for “fair” or “white”. The surname is recorded in Scotland from the early modern period, especially in the Highlands and western lowlands. Variants of the name include MacPhun, MacPhune, and MacPhurn, reflecting regional spelling differences and anglicisation over time.

Historical records show the name appearing in parish registers and manorial documents in the 16th and 17th centuries. By the 19th century, many individuals bearing the surname Macphuns emigrated from Scotland to North America, with concentrations noted in Ontario, Canada, and the Appalachian region of the United States. Genealogical indexes list several families that established themselves as a small but distinct community among Scottish settlers in the American colonies.

In contemporary demographic data, the name Macphuns is comparatively uncommon. The 2011 United Kingdom census counted fewer than a hundred individuals with this surname, while U.S. census records report a similarly low frequency, with most occurrences recorded in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. In Canada, the name is mostly identified within the province of Ontario.

Notable persons bearing the surname who have entered public records include John Macphuns, a 19th‑century Scottish merchant active in the Scottish wine trade, and Margaret Macphuns, a Canadian schoolteacher noted for her involvement in early women’s suffrage movements in the early 20th century. The surname does not currently have a widely recognized coat of arms, though local genealogical societies sometimes attribute a distinct heraldic symbol to families tracing their lineage to the original Macphuns of Inverness.