Maxwell in a border surname of Scottish origin.
Maccus, son of Undewyn, a Saxon lord in the reign of the Scottish King David I, was given land on the River Tweed before 1150. He had a salmon fishery there, called Maccus's Wiel (from OE wael "a pool"). The lands got the same name and eventually the name evolved into Maxwell.
The Maxwells in Annandale became Lords and Earls of Nithsdale. They were the strongest riding clan of the West March on the Scottish side till eclipsed by the Johnstones in the 16th century.
Their feud with the Johnstones is the longest, bloodiest and most imfamous in Scottish history. After James VI broke up the clans many fled to Ulster Ireland, making sure to avoid county Fermanagh, which was infested with their old enemies: the Johnstones, Armstrongs and the Irvines. They prefered counties Down and Antrim.
Courtesy of:
Robert Bell's "The Book of Ulster Surnames"
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