The McElhone family may be either Scottish or Irish.  It is a matter of heated discussion among family members.  What is clear is that the name today is rare in Scotland and relatively common in County Tyrone and County Derry in Northern Ireland.  We believe that all the McElhone's now in Northern Ireland are Catholic, but have reason to believe that in the early 1700s there were also Protestant McElhone's there.  See Jack's page above for one of our clues.  Some places on the Web call the name a rare Irish name, others say it is from Argyll in Scotland.  We have not yet found a link from Scotland to Ireland, but we continue to try.  

There are many books about Irish names which I have reviewed, mostly in the Cincinnati Library, and here is what I have found.  Hope someone can add to the list.

Books with no mention of McElhone:

The Dictionary of Irish Family Names by Ida Grehar

Book of Irish names by Ronan Coghlan

Book of Ulster Surnames by Robert Bell

Irish Famies by Edward MacLysaght

Supplement to Irish families by Edward MacLysaght

More Irish Families by Edward MacLysaght

Irish Family Names by Brian de Breffny

Scottish Clan and Family Encyclopedia by George Way and Romilly Squire

Irish Names by Donnchadh O'Corrain and Fidelma Maguire

Books with McElhone listings:

Master Book of Irish Surnames by Michael O'Laughlin published 1993 by Irish Genealogical Foundation, Kansas City Missouri, 64116 - call number R929.4209415 042 1993 page 200 - McElhone W (W is a reference to Rev Patrick Woulfe work listed below)

The Surnames of Ireland by Edward MacLysaght 6th Ed. 1991 published by Colour Bodus Limited, Dublin call number R929.409415 qM166su 1991                                        

  page 97.  "McElhone, Mac Giolla Comhghain, Another rare name found mainly in Co. Tyrone."

Book of Scots-Irish Family Names by Robert Bell published by Blackstaff Press Limited, Belfast N. I. 1988 reprinted in 1990, 1994, 1997 call number R929.409416 B435 1997        

   page 251 and 252  Contains information about the Woods name.  After a long discussion there is this paragraph "The Co. Tyrone name MacIlhone or MacElhone is in Gaelic Mac Giolla Chomhghain, 'son of  the devotee of (St) Comgan".

Clans and Families of Ireland by John Grenham published in Ireland by Gill and MacMillan Dublin 1993 Call number R929.409415 qG826 1993                                                                                                            

  page 183  "Woods:  In appearance at Least, Woods, together with Wood is of course an English name, denoting a person who lived near a Wood or, in some cases, a woodcutter.  In Ireland, however, the majority of those bearing the surname of native extraction.  The Irish for wood is coill, plural coillte, and many Irish names containing elements which sounded similar in untutored English ears were mistranslated as "Woods."  Among such names are :  Mac Giolla Comhghaill (MacIlhoyle/Coyle), son of the follower of St. Comall, found in Donegal and Monaghan; Mac an Chorligh (MacQuilly/Magilly), son of the cock, from County Roscommon; Mac Giolla Chomghain (MacElhone) son of the follower of St. Comgan in Co. Tyrone and Mac Caoilte (Quilty) in Munster.  The only family whose surname actually did contain coill were the MacConchoille son of the hound of the woods, who were also anglicised phonetically as MacEnhill.  They were based near Omagh in Co. Tyrone.  The form woods is more than ten times commoner in Ireland than in England and Wales."  This book also suggests that Catholic emigration to Americas was officially forbidden until 1780.  Famine in Ulster 1740 - 41 gave sharp impetus to Ulster emigration which rose through the 1760's when 20,000 left Ulster Ports.

Irish Names and Surnames by Rev. Patrick Woulfe Originally Published in Dublin in 1923, Reprint by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, Baltimore Md.  1993 call number R929.4 W93 1993                      

  page 371: "Mac Giolla Comgain - IV - M'Gillchoan, MacIlhone, MacCowan, Cowan; 'son of Giolla Comgain (servant of St. Comgan); also Mac Giolla Comgain; a rare Ulster surname; also a Scottish surname.

Irish Surnames by Sean de Bhulbh published 1997 Faing Co. Luimnigh page 270 "MacElhone: mod.nos.: Derry - Tyrone, Ir. Mac Giolla Chomhghain, devotee of St. Comhghan.  It is also Scottish from Argyle. SI & SS (mod.nos means moderate number of entries in phone books of Ireland 21-55 names, SI means reference to MacLysaght and SS reference to George F. Black, Surnames of Scotland published in New York 1962)

Saint Comgan is referred to on several web pages which I will link here in the near future.  He was Irish who worked in Scotland in the 7th Century.  More to come.