Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 35

Thread: Scottish Surnames and their Origins

  1. #1
    Genetically Engineered Ánleifr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Last Online
    01-12-2014 @ 10:30 PM
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Germanic & Celtic
    Ethnicity
    American
    Gender
    Posts
    751
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 23
    Given: 0

    1 Not allowed!

    Default Scottish Surnames and their Origins

    Is there a way to tell if a Scottish surname originated with the Scots, Picts, Normans, Anglo-Saxon or Norse? Would it be accurate to assume that most "Mc" and "Mac" prefixes came over from Ireland with the Scots?
    "A man must accept his fate or be destroyed by it." ~Spartacus

  2. #2
    Veteran Member
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"


    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Ethnicity
    Wildling
    Ancestry
    Cumbria, Scotland, Northumberland, Shetland
    Country
    Scotland
    Y-DNA
    R-L21*
    mtDNA
    K1C2a
    Gender
    Posts
    21,605
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 19,702
    Given: 5,845

    3 Not allowed!

    Default

    Would have to have good local and national knowledge of Scottish surnames to know. Mc Mac is gaelic yes but also Norse-Gael. For example Like MacAuley, Macleod are Norse-Gael etc.. which have been anglicised much later to complicate it.

  3. #3
    Genetically Engineered Ánleifr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Last Online
    01-12-2014 @ 10:30 PM
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Germanic & Celtic
    Ethnicity
    American
    Gender
    Posts
    751
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 23
    Given: 0

    0 Not allowed!

    Default

    I found this interesting site, what do you think?

    http://www.scottishhistory.com/artic...c/macvsmc.html
    "A man must accept his fate or be destroyed by it." ~Spartacus

  4. #4
    Favored by those with impeccable taste Supreme American's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Last Online
    12-27-2012 @ 04:11 PM
    Location
    Base of the Rockies
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Germanic
    Ethnicity
    German & Colonial American
    Country
    United States
    Region
    Colorado
    Taxonomy
    Kraut
    Politics
    Plenty
    Religion
    Agnostic
    Age
    6
    Gender
    Posts
    6,015
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 93
    Given: 0

    1 Not allowed!

    Default

    How about the name Donaldson? I can't figure what it is, I assume Scottish?!

  5. #5
    Veteran Member
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"


    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Ethnicity
    Wildling
    Ancestry
    Cumbria, Scotland, Northumberland, Shetland
    Country
    Scotland
    Y-DNA
    R-L21*
    mtDNA
    K1C2a
    Gender
    Posts
    21,605
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 19,702
    Given: 5,845

    3 Not allowed!

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Tuck View Post
    I found this interesting site, what do you think?

    http://www.scottishhistory.com/artic...c/macvsmc.html
    looks good, shall give it a sound look.

    Quote Originally Posted by Supreme American View Post
    How about the name Donaldson? I can't figure what it is, I assume Scottish?!
    easy Scottish like all Donalds/McDonalds,MacDonalds originally, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Donald

  6. #6
    Genetically Engineered Ánleifr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Last Online
    01-12-2014 @ 10:30 PM
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Germanic & Celtic
    Ethnicity
    American
    Gender
    Posts
    751
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 23
    Given: 0

    1 Not allowed!

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Supreme American View Post
    How about the name Donaldson? I can't figure what it is, I assume Scottish?!
    It is ironic that you asked about that name as I am myself wondering about the name Donelson........I have read that Donaldson is a sept of McDonald, and that Donelson is a sept of Donaldson...but I don't know, LOL
    "A man must accept his fate or be destroyed by it." ~Spartacus

  7. #7
    Veteran Member
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"


    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Ethnicity
    Wildling
    Ancestry
    Cumbria, Scotland, Northumberland, Shetland
    Country
    Scotland
    Y-DNA
    R-L21*
    mtDNA
    K1C2a
    Gender
    Posts
    21,605
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 19,702
    Given: 5,845

    1 Not allowed!

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Tuck View Post
    I have read that Donaldson is a sept of McDonald, and that Donelson is a sept of Donaldson...but I don't know, LOL
    Think it may one of those names that are both Scottish and Irish. I know in Ireland you have O'Donnell or Donnelly. Not sure.

  8. #8
    Veteran Member
    Apricity Funding Member
    "Friend of Apricity"


    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Last Online
    @
    Ethnicity
    Wildling
    Ancestry
    Cumbria, Scotland, Northumberland, Shetland
    Country
    Scotland
    Y-DNA
    R-L21*
    mtDNA
    K1C2a
    Gender
    Posts
    21,605
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 19,702
    Given: 5,845

    1 Not allowed!

    Default

    Also MacDonnell near Northern Ireland/Scotland

    Rathlin has been the site of a number of infamous massacres. An expedition in 1557 by Sir Henry Sidney in 1557 devastated the island. The massacre in July 1575, when the Earl of Essex ordered a force to the island, led by Francis Drake and John Norreys. The English killed hundreds of the women and children of Clan MacDonnell, who had taken refuge there. Also in 1642 Covenanter Campbell soldiers of the Argyll's Foot were encouraged by their commanding officer Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck to kill the local Catholic MacDonalds, near relatives of their arch Clan enemy in the Scottish Highlands Clan MacDonald. This they did with ruthless efficiency throwing scores of MacDonald women over cliffs to their deaths on rocks below. The number of victims of this massacre has been put as low as one hundred and as high as three thousand.
    and Clan MacDonell of Glengarry
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Ma...l_of_Glengarry

  9. #9
    Genetically Engineered Ánleifr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Last Online
    01-12-2014 @ 10:30 PM
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Germanic & Celtic
    Ethnicity
    American
    Gender
    Posts
    751
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 23
    Given: 0

    2 Not allowed!

    Default

    Graham, does the clan system in Scotland come from the Scots or the Picts?
    "A man must accept his fate or be destroyed by it." ~Spartacus

  10. #10
    Peyrol
    Guest

    2 Not allowed!

    Default

    Northern italian surname "Scotti", for example, derived from medieval mercenaries used by Lombardy, Venice and Savoie-Piemont.

    Quite diffused surname, btw.


Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. What are the origins of these surnames?
    By Sikeliot in forum Genealogy
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 06-28-2017, 09:11 PM
  2. Czech Surnames
    By Corvus in forum Genealogy
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 07-18-2013, 10:52 AM
  3. Scandinavian Surnames
    By Ánleifr in forum Genealogy
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 01-20-2012, 03:57 PM
  4. What are the origins of these surnames?
    By Sikeliot in forum Genealogy
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-30-2011, 08:14 AM
  5. German Surnames - Meanings & Origins...
    By Elveon in forum Genealogy
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-14-2009, 11:22 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •