Instances are MacDuff, Duffie (and even MacPhie, all from dubh, “black”), and Macateer ( mac an t-saoir, “son of the carpenter,” sometimes translated to give the surname Carpenter). The first two categories occur also in the Gaelic system, though less frequently. Most English surnames are formed from trades, personal attributes, or places. Later, Norman names were likewise incorporated-e.g., MacCostello-and in more recent times, especially in Scotland, surnames like MacDicken and MacRitchie have been formed from modern Christian names. Several of the best-known Mac names embody Norse forenames-e.g., the Scottish MacCorquadale, the Irish MacManus, or Irish MacLoughlin (MacLachlan in Scotland). Many have been still farther removed from their original form by the substitution of the terminal - son for the prefix Mac-e.g., Ferguson. Most names that contain Mac are formed from a Christian name, as is Mac Aonghusa (modern MacAinsh or MacGuinness, which both derive from the forename now anglicized as Angus). Similarly, Dermot O’Tierney was simply Dermot the grandson of a man called Tierney ( Ua, later shortened to O, means grandson or, more loosely, descendant). This name, however, does not in fact imply the existence of the surname MacGorman in the 9th century but merely indicates that this Domhnall (Donnell) was the son of a man whose Christian name was Gorman. A cursory examination of early medieval Gaelic records gives the impression that surnames in the modern sense were in use much earlier, because such personal names as Domhnall Mac Gormain occur continually. The Gaelic countries were among the earliest to adopt hereditary surnames, their introduction in Ireland dating from the 11th century (with a few early ones in the 10th). Just as the latter has become initial P, as in the modern names Price or Pritchard, Mac has in some names become initial C and even K-e.g., Cody, Costigan, Keegan. Mac, Scottish and Irish Gaelic surname prefix meaning “son.” It is equivalent to the Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman Fitz and the Welsh Ap (formerly Map). SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.
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