– Mike DeSimone Jun 11 '11 at 4:05. To a lesser extent, “Vc” was used to denote “grandson of,” so that a person would have two surnames. The same goes for "De" and "Di" in Italian and "de" in Hispanic surnames: the following letter is capitalized. Get occasional updates with news, events, offers and more to help you plan a vacation in Ireland. I’ve traced my ancestors on my mother’s side back to Scotland. Surnames have been around so long that sometimes they get changed, and in -some- families, the second capital letter was gotten rid of.”. Found in: Cavan, Leitrim, Monaghan, Ulster. There was also a prefix for “daughter of” but these mostly fell out of favour years ago. Any comments? Is there a significant difference? Can I hover my finger over a chess piece without touching it in a major chess tournament? Today, the most common surnames in Scotland are Smith and Brown, with the first Mac name—MacDonald—coming in at #11. British surnames beginning with 'MCC'. Obviously, this was not a lasting practice and is not nearly as popular as Johnson. People who are Lords are generally quite well documented and that’s really not so in this case. In Russia, the patronym (-ovich, -yevich, -yich, or the female -yevna, -ovna or -ichna) is still used as a middle name. Means “Finn’s son”or sometimes “son of the foreigner”. site design / logo © 2020 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa. A comprehensive guide to the origins, meanings, etymologies and distribution of thousands of British surnames. Ano ang mga kasabihan sa sa aking kababata? Can you (anyone) offer anything about this…? Our family name is McArthur, which in the US is often confused with MacArthur, due to the renown of General Douglas MacArthur. The “of” in Gaelic changes the following word. “Dirty Bertie’s” Throne: the Sex Chair of Edward VI, That Time the Moon Nearly Started WWIII and Other Silly Cold War Shenanigans, What Those Nasty White Chunks That Sometimes Come From Your Throat Are, The Difference Between a Fact and a Factoid, Marilyn Monroe was Not Even Close to a Size 12-16, A Japanese Soldier Who Continued Fighting WWII 29 Years After the Japanese Surrendered, Because He Didn’t Know. Your email address will not be published. Unlike English surnames (but in the same way as Slavic surnames), all of these have male and female forms depending on the bearer, e.g. Etymology for “Mc‑” and “O’‑” prefix in surnames. He was financially irresponsible (among other things) and my great grandfather was getting the heat; I.E. Moving the lower case “c” up above type in the last name McNeil? Your email address will not be published. So that means McDonald’s could b Irish or Scottish, hmm interesting. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Feed), as well as: Interesting article about Mc and Mac. It only takes a minute to sign up. They both just mean “son of” and can be used by anyone of either descent or religion. You can probably see why Mc and Mac names typically contain a second capital letter. The following tables include last names starting with M in the US population during the 1990 census. The family originally came from Scotland to serve as Gallowglasses (a type of mercenary soldier) to Irish lords. The same origin as the English name Smith, to which is was sometime anglicised. I myself am a Londoner but know that all McGoverns originate from in and around Glangevlin in the hills of West Cavan. What about the history behind O’ Myname. Take someone named John Macmaster. In Scottish names, the second capital is almost always correct - McDonald, MacDonald, etc (but note that 'Machinery' does need a capital H). It is also standard in Russia to refer to a person formally and casually by their first name and patronym. My 5th great grandfather had the surname McDonald when he emigrated to Pennsylvania from Scotland. Why do both “Mac” and “Mc” exist? Stack Exchange network consists of 176 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Surnames have been around so long that sometimes they get changed, and in some families, the second capital letter was gotten rid of. Mc is just an abbreviation of Mac, and both can actually be abbreviated further to the much less common M’. I think you’ll find that the word ‘Beck’ has not fallen into disuse as an alternative for a Brook or a Stream. Why do I need to remove a part of the insulation on a copper wire on a simple electric motor? Great topic. So, essentially, there is no real difference between your name and that of General MacArthur’s. Mc or Mac gives no indication as to whether the name is Irish or Scottish. When the names were eventually transposed to English, the Gaelic pronunciation was sometimes written as “Mc” and sometimes as “Mac”. So, essentially, there is no real difference between your name and that of General MacArthur’s. This prefix changes the spelling of the last name. Thanks…just curious any idea why MacGregor was banned? What the British never understood nor tried to learn about the Irish language was what it meant. Would Earth fireworks work on the Moon or on Mars? The Irish language uses the same convention. From what I’ve read, this was a common occurrence in the American south. As Etymology for Mc and O' in names says, Mc is an abbreviation for Mac, and Mac is a Gaelic term meaning "son of". mail, threats of jail from debt collectors, etc). My name would be, Barbara ni Raghleigh not the more British-style spelling, O’Reilly. Lord as in nobleman, not God. For example, McDowell, or McDonald, or McKenna, etc. In Tetris on Game Boy, does the speed increase depend on time or on the number of points? If Children Grew up Isolated from Adults, Would they Create Their Own Language? What is the “Ap” in the surname “ApSimon”? However since it is taken as beginning the whole surname, it is capitalized as the initial letter of a proper name. So Scotty did what any good clansmen would do. folk etymology, sort of thing...). Some Scottish surnames do not have a capital. If in lower case, the usual rule is that the next letter after The Brits didn’t understand that and made it an apostrophe (‘). True? Your email address will not be published. Mac Amhalghaidh means “son of Auley”, once important Gaelic Lords.