Surname McMichael: Irish or Scottish...

[slohairt]

They are all Anglicisations of Mac Gille Mhicheil, which means 'son of the servant of St. Michael.'

[M. A. C. Newsome]

About the Stewart tartans:
http://albanach.org/stewart_tartans.htm

[Arlen]

Hey, Thornliebank is just down the road from me!!!

[Bruce Scott]

It may also be possible for the name to have descended from a certain Michael's son given the name MacMichael - the son of Michael. Tracing the original Michael's clan affiliation may be nigh on impossible.

There can be a good deal of uncertainty in Scottish surnames, for instance:
"Sir Walter Scott tells us that one of his friends, shooting in the north, had a guide assigned to him under the name of Gordon. But he recognised the man as having served him in a similar capacity some years before in another place under the name of Macpherson. On asking the man whether he was not the same and whether his name had not then been Macpherson, the composed reply was, Yes, but that was when I lived on the other side of the hill."
Black, 'The Surnames of Scotland'

[davedove]

It may also be possible for the name to have descended from a certain Michael's son given the name MacMichael - the son of Michael. Tracing the original Michael's clan affiliation may be nigh on impossible.

Very true, given that the name simply means "son of Michael", your particular name could have come from any clan or region. For instance, you ancestor may have been a man named Michael who was a member of the MacDonald clan, his son would have been _____ MacMichael of Clan MacDonald. Or it could have been any other clan, or maybe not affiliated with a clan at all.

Only through research into your own family would you be able to find out for sure.

[RedBeard]

Kent have you done any research on Frazier. (if that is your real name)HeHe? I have Frazier in my close history and have touched on it a bit and it so far has come out as Scot. as a cross spelling of Fraser.

[Kent Frazier]

Kent have you done any research on Frazier. (if that is your real name)HeHe? I have Frazier in my close history and have touched on it a bit and it so far has come out as Scot. as a cross spelling of Fraser.

I have researched my Frazier line. In fact that is how I came across the McMichael name. I have reached somewhat of a dead end at George Thomas Frazier, born abt. 1725 in Inverness. He married a Mary PUGH abt. 1748 in either PA or NC. Died abt. 1790 in Randolph, NC. I searched with various spellings (including Fraser) with limited results.

And yes it is my real name.

[Daibhidh O'Baoighill]

Here are some more tartan options for you. ;)

From clandonald.info: "MacMichael - Those from the West Highlands & Islands. No more than 1 in 18 Michaels originally had a Mac prefix. MacMichaels not of Clan Donald may be of Clans MacKenzie or Stewart,or, from Aberdeen or Galloway."

Link: http://www.clandonald.info/clandonaldnames2.html#MacM