A Scottish surname, McClure comes from the Gaelic ‘macgille’ meaning the son of the sallow lad. The spelling variations for McClure include MacLure, MacCloor, McCloor, MaacClure and McLeur. In England the McClure surname is only in a few areas. Most are in the northern regions in Yorkshire, Durham, Lancashire, Durham and Cumberland. There are also a large number in the city of London. In Scotland most McClure families are in the southwest region. The counties of Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire and Wigtownshire have the highest numbers in population of the McClure name. Within the United States the McClure family name is concentrated in New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, California and Texas. Famous: Eric McClure (race car driver), Doug McClure (movie film actor), Michael McClure (poet), Robert McClure (English Arctic explorer), Mavis McClure (sculptor), James Howe McClure (English writer), Kandyse McClure (actress from Canada) and Bob McClure (professional baseball player).