Paul McCartney

McCartney in 2011, image via DFree / Shutterstock.com

Birth Name: James Paul McCartney

Place of Birth: Liverpool North, Lancashire, England, U.K.

Date of Birth: 18 June, 1942

Ethnicity: Irish, English, Manx/Isle of Man, Ulster-Scots, Scottish, at least 1/32 Welsh

Paul McCartney is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and actor. He was a member of the band The Beatles, along with George Harrison, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr. He has also been known as Paul Ramon, Bernard Webb, Fireman, Apollo C. Vermouth, and Percy “Thrills” Thrillington.

Paul is the son of Mary Patricia (Mohin) and James McCartney. His brother is performing artist and photographer Mike McGear. Paul is married to Nancy Shevell. He was previously married to musician, photographer, and animal rights activist Linda McCartney, until her death, and to model and anti-landmine campaigner Heather Mills. He has five children: four, including fashion designer Stella McCartney, with Linda; and a daughter with Heather.

His father was of Irish, English, Isle of Man/Manx, Ulster-Scots, Scottish, and 1/16th Welsh, ancestry. His mother was of Irish, and some English, descent.

Paul’s paternal grandfather was Joseph McCartney (the son of James McCartney and Elizabeth Williams). Joseph was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. James was the son of James McCartney, who was from Ireland, and of Ann Tate, who was born in Scotland, or of Sarah Tomlinson. Elizabeth was the daughter of George Williams and Eliza Whitfield; her own grandfather, William Williams, was Welsh, from Mold, Flintshire.

Paul’s paternal grandmother was Margaret Florence Clegg (the daughter of Paul Clegg and Jane Claque/Clague). Margaret was born in Everton, Lancashire, England. Paul and Jane were born on the Isle of Man, with Jane being from St Anne. Paul was the son of Robert Clegg and Elizabeth Commish/Comish. Jane was the daughter of Thomas Claque/Clague and Esther Kneen.

Paul’s maternal grandfather was Owen Mohan/Mohin (the son of Owen Mohan and Mary McGeogh/McGough). Paul’s grandfather Owen was born in Tullynamalrow, County Monaghan, Ireland, and changed his surname from Mohan to Mohin. Paul’s great-grandfather Owen was the son of Michael Mohan. Mary was the daughter of Michael McGough.

Paul’s maternal grandmother was Mary Theresa Danher (the daughter of John Danaher/Danher/Dahnher and Jane Baines). Mary Theresa was born in Liverpool. John was born in Limerick, Ireland, the son of John Danaher. Jane was English, born in Dudley, England, the daughter of John Beanes/Baines and Elizabeth Cook.

Sources: Genealogies of Paul McCartney – http://www.geni.com
https://gw.geneanet.org

Family history of Paul McCartney – http://www.beatlesireland.info

Genealogies of Paul McCartney (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.wikitree.com
http://en.rodovid.org

Notes on Paul McCartney’s ancestry – https://hergestgenealogy.wordpress.com

ethnic

Curious about ethnicity

44 Responses

  1. ses101 says:

    He definitely has some Scottish blood way back – his brother did some research that confirmed it. The actual name McCartney is Scottish as well.

    As a Scotsman myself, I get a bit frustrated how Scotland seems to get ignored a lot on this site. Lots of Americans are referred to as being of Irish descent when they have Scottish names, and in reality their ancestors probably moved from Scotland to America via a spell in Northern Ireland.

    • AdamMartin says:

      I completely disagree.They are being referred to as “Scots Irish” in these cases.Somebody on this site as at pains to make clear distinctions between the two.
      It all depends on how far you want to go back.The McCartney surname has its origins in Ireland.Paul’s McCartney line probably returned to Ireland 800 years ago as part of the Gallowglass,long before the plantations.
      If you want to start going on about Irish names vs Scottish then you are getting into a very grey area.There is a lot of crossover.
      Paul is certainly a Gael.If the Scots wish to dispense with that part of their heritage then that’s their problem.

  2. andrew says:

    https://hergestgenealogy.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/the-isle-of-man-ancestors-of-paul-mccartney/

    he’s 1/32 Welsh through William Williams (the grandfather of Elizabeth Williams) born in Mold, Flintshire, Wales.

  3. andrew says:

    he is Irish from both sides

  4. LIL VACHA says:

    YEAH I AGREE W/ ANONYMOUS… HE’S IRISH, ENGLISH, AND SCOTTISH.

  5. Klipping says:

    That´s so obvious, in Liverpool almost everybody has Irish or/and Welsh ancestry, the Irish and Welsh migration was even bigger than English in Liverpool so more than half of population have that ancestry.

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