Surnames beginning in "Mc" and "Mac"... Irish or Scottish?

[Sikeliot]

I have heard that surnames beginning in "Mc" are Irish and those beginning in "Mac" are Scottish. Is this true?

I have come to believe not, because there are some surnames beginning in "Mc" that I have only ever met Irish people having, like McGrath, McMahon, McEvoy, and McCarthy, and others that I have only ever heard of being Scottish such as McDougall, McGregor, and McKinley.. whereas I have seen "MacCarthy" and "MacMahon" both belonging to Irish people and spelled that way instead.

So which is correct? What is applicable for people you have met?

[Newsboy]

Mc and Mac are Gaelic prefixes most likely used among both Irish and Scottish surnames. Mc is probably the more Anglicized version of Mac. Both of them mean 'son of'. Mc surnames are often further anglicized, i.e McMahon becomes Matthews and McShane becomes Johnson. The O' prefix would be strictly Irish, as O'Neill or O'Gorman for instance.

Scottish and Irish surnames are often very similar because both surnames are of Gaelic origin. I'm not sure, but I think Scottish and Irish Gaelic are almost mutally intelligible.

[Grumpy Cat]

Scottish. Irish use O.

[Sikeliot]

Scottish. Irish use O.

I don't think that's true. A lot of Irish surnames do start in Mc. But you are partially right in "O'" surnames never being Scottish.

[Baluarte]

Both, perhaps Scottish has a somewhat higher incidence.

[Newsboy]

I don't think that's true. A lot of Irish surnames do start in Mc. But you are partially right in "O'" surnames never being Scottish.

True. McManus, McNamara, McGrath, McCarthy, and McGovern are examples of Irish surnames with this prefix. It is not a Scottish prefix but a Gaelic one.

[Sikeliot]

True. McManus, McNamara, McGrath, McCarthy, and McGovern are examples of Irish surnames with this prefix. It is not a Scottish prefix but a Gaelic one.

And any of the ones with "gill" in them are Irish.. McGillis, McGillicuddy, McGill etc. I've never seen any of those as Scottish.

I am just asking whether there is a rule as to which ones are generally Irish or Scottish.. is it a Mc versus Mac rule or is it some names just Irish and others just Scottish. I think it's the latter.

[1stLightHorse]

It's Gaelic, and it means "Son of" for example....Mc Cullagh means 'Son of a Boar'

Mc = Son
Cullagh = Wild Boar


O' means "Descendant of", for example O'Niall means 'Descendant of Niall'.

[Baluarte]

Makes you wonder how they said "Son of a bitch"

[1stLightHorse]

Vince McMahon, in translation, Vince, Son of a Bear. He lives up to this name i believe.;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DO0_Qr-Q8k

[Baluarte]

Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, a very well-known military of France, Marshal of the Second Empire and royalist:

http://previews.agefotostock.com/previewimage/bajaage/e93dea09971ea927abcf15af98b98c9d/IBR-2258224.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Patrice-mac-mahon.jpg

His ancestors were part of the Dál gCais and were Lords of Corcu Baiscind in the Kingdom of Thomond (later to become County Clare) in Ireland. After losing much of their land in the Cromwellian confiscations, a branch moved to Limerick for a time before settling in France during the reign of King William III due to their support of the deposed King James II. They applied for naturalization in 1749.

Surviving protestantism :thumb001:

[liamliam]

I have been told it's native to both.

[Anglojew]

The P-Celtic/Q-Celtic hypothesis is a categorization for the Celtic languages. The theory links Gaulish with Brythonic as P-Celtic and links Goidelic with Celtiberian as Q-Celtic. The difference between P and Q languages is the treatment of Proto-Celtic *kw, which became *p in the P-Celtic languages but *k in Goidelic. For example the word for head is pen in Brythonic languages but ceann in Goidelic; the word for son is mab (earlier map) in Brythonic but mac in Goidelic – maqq on the Primitive Irish Ogham inscriptions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-Celtic_and_Q-Celtic_languages

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Map_of_Celtic_Nations.svg/175px-Map_of_Celtic_Nations.svg.png

[Lemon Kush]

I have a friend who's father is of full Swedish descent and his surname is MacCarthy

[Stanley]

Mc can be Irish or Scottish, and Mac can likewise be either. There is no strict rule.

However, and I'm no authority on this, it does seem to me that in the US, Mc is used almost exclusively, for both Scottish and Irish names. Mac surnames are a rare sight here. I also get the impression that the Scottish (in Scotland) are more inclined towards Mac than are the Irish; but again, it's no invariable rule.

So really you have to look at the "suffix" to discern between Irish and Scottish names. And even then, there are some that could be either, like McLaughlin for instance (my Irish grandmother's maiden name).

[Sikeliot]

So really you have to look at the "suffix" to discern between Irish and Scottish names. And even then, there are some that could be either, like McLaughlin for instance (my Irish grandmother's maiden name).

Are there specific ones that you would use to differentiate?

I've noticed all of the ones like McDouglas, McDougall are Scottish but all of the McGill, McGillis etc. are Irish.

[Stanley]

Are there specific ones that you would use to differentiate?

I've noticed all of the ones like McDouglas, McDougall are Scottish but all of the McGill, McGillis etc. are Irish.

There's really no surefire way to immediately tell, but, for me, there is usually a certain feeling evoked by the name that more often than not results in the right guess. Most of the Scottish ones I come across give an "old American" impression that is hard to mischaracterize, like McKinley or McKnight. On the other hand, Irish surnames commonly have a cognate Scottish one (more frequently than vice-versa), so it's hard to pinpoint a given surname as unequivocally Irish.

[Neanderthal]

Excuse me.. what about MC Hammer? does he have Scottish ancestry? :confused:

[Stanley]

Excuse me.. what about MC Hammer? does he have Scottish ancestry? :confused:

Nope, that one is certainly Irish.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zU_7Ne-xM9Y/UFu_q5fjayI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/Ayq0Z7z0hFg/s1600/BlackIrish.jpeg

[pilotpat]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I have a question regarding "Mc" and "Mac" surnames:

If I were to ask someone with a "Mc" or "Mac" surname the initial letter of their surname, is it true that the "Mc/Mac" is not taken into account, e.g., someone with the surname McBride; the first initial would be B.

I'm no expert on this subject matter, but I'm interested if this is indeed the case or not and if so, why?

I would assume that people with Mc/Mac surnames would say the first letter is M, whereas someone I spoke to recently has told me otherwise. It's the first I've heard of this and I'd like to know if there's any truth to it. Is there a cultural or other reason for doing so?

[Graham]

I have heard that surnames beginning in "Mc" are Irish and those beginning in "Mac" are Scottish. Is this true?


No, Scots can have both Mc & Mac. But Ireland rarely has Mac, perhaps only in Ulster. Ireland has O' unlike Scotland.

Ni or Nic is the female version(daughter of) in proper Gaelic names.

[Graham]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I have a question regarding "Mc" and "Mac" surnames:

If I were to ask someone with a "Mc" or "Mac" surname the initial letter of their surname, is it true that the "Mc/Mac" is not taken into account, e.g., someone with the surname McBride; the first initial would be B.

I'm no expert on this subject matter, but I'm interested if this is indeed the case or not and if so, why?

I would assume that people with Mc/Mac surnames would say the first letter is M, whereas someone I spoke to recently has told me otherwise. It's the first I've heard of this and I'd like to know if there's any truth to it. Is there a cultural or other reason for doing so?

Likely in the Gaeltacht. Considering son of has its proper meaning.