Cattenach Surname

8,193,072nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 5 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Scotland
Highest density in:
Scotland

Cattenach Surname Definition:

Gaelic Catanach, Middle Gaelic plural Cattanaich (Lismore, p. 100), "belonging to (Clan) Chattan," the Ciann Gillecatan of the 1467 MS. The clan claims descent from Gillacatain (1467 MS.), "servant of (S.) Catan," whose name denotes "little cat.

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Cattenach Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland51:1,070,76331,189
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland191:197,0117,414
England11:24,375,369195,128

Cattenach Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Gaelic Catanach, Middle Gaelic plural Cattanaich (Lismore, p. 100), "belonging to (Clan) Chattan," the Ciann Gillecatan of the 1467 MS. The clan claims descent from Gillacatain (1467 MS.), "servant of (S.) Catan," whose name denotes "little cat." Individuals of this name were fairly numerous in Braemar, Upper Deeside, and in Strathdon. Thomas Kethirnathie (Kathirnach or Cattanach), a canon of Whithern, was appointed abbot of Fearn in 1407 but was rejected by the canons (Gordon, Monasticon, Glasgow, 1868, p. 351; OPS., II, p. 433; Beauly, p. 313). Arthur Catanache was attorney in Wadbuster, Shetland, 1623 (OSS., I, 16), James Cattanach was kirk officer of Contane in 1673 (IDR., p. 331), and Robert Catanach was slandered in 1679 (ibid., p. 341). James Catnach (1792—1841) was one of the pioneers in the cause of promoting cheap literature, and established presses at Alnwick, Newcasde, and finally in London. Catanoch 1696, Cattanoch 1737, Cattenoch 1682. In Gaelic individuals of the name are known as Catan, e.g. Iain Catan is Englished as John Cattanach.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Cattenach Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Cattenach Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Cattenach is held by more people in Scotland than any other country/territory. It may also be found in the variant forms:. Click here for further potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Cattenach? popularity and diffusion

It is the 8,193,072nd most commonly occurring family name worldwide, held by around 1 in 1,457,509,183 people. It is predominantly found in Europe, where 100 percent of Cattenach live; 100 percent live in Northern Europe and 100 percent live in British Isles.

The surname Cattenach is most frequently held in Scotland, where it is borne by 5 people, or 1 in 1,070,763. In Scotland Cattenach is most frequent in: Fife, where 100 percent live.

Cattenach Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Cattenach has changed over time. In Scotland the share of the population with the surname fell 74 percent between 1881 and 2014.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Cattenach
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis