Does it heave a meaning, a purpose, what is it and why keep it?
2007-10-07 17:11:52 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
Mac or Mc are generally understood to mean "son of". Many surnames have prefixes like this that mean "son of" - there is Fitz, for example - Fitzgerald means son of Gerald. MacHenry means son of Henry. McKay means son of Kay... and so forth. This does not happen only in English. In Arabic, the prefix Ibn also means "son of".
In the Nordic or Scandinavian languages, it comes at the end, in the form of sen or son, like Anderson, or Johanssen.
It is very interesting how the various surnames evolved. there is much more to know than the little you see here.
I hope this helps.
2007-10-07 17:25:18 · answer #1 · answered by elmina 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
The prefix Mac, Mc and Fitz means son of
The prefix O means descendant of.
2007-10-07 18:22:16 · answer #2 · answered by Shirley T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
both Mc and Mac have the say meaning which is son of So McDonald would be son of Donald.
2007-10-07 17:41:25 · answer #3 · answered by Benthebus 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
top o' the day to you!! I am half Irish and I did know that O' and Mc preceding a surname implies family membership. I am also one-quarter Norwegian, where names such as Hanson implies "son of Hans" and Peterson means "son of Peter" Some surnames also imply placenames- for instance "Fjeld" means mountain, so anyone with part of that surname likely had family in a mountainous part of Norway. I'm sure the same stands for Irish surnames as well. My mothers maiden name was "Malone" Not sure of the origin, other than it's Irish.
2016-03-19 07:35:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
McDonalds is more than likely the maker's last name and its irish. there is many irish last names with Mc or Mac
2007-10-07 17:19:04 · answer #5 · answered by aud urbz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mac is a Celtic patronymic originally meaning "son of". It denotes a family or clan and variants are Mc and Mag ( e.g. Maginnis ).
2007-10-07 17:22:42 · answer #6 · answered by LucaPacioli1492 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It means "son," as in the English "Johnson," "Harrison," etc. Lots of family names come from names of fathers made into surnames. The older Norman families kept the "Fitz" surname, which also means "son." "Mac" is Gaelic and O is Irish.
Why keep it? Well, I suppose people are generally quite attached to their names and don't want their kids to change them. So in a way I suppose the old "son of" prefixes and suffixes still serve their original purpose (for the males at least).
2007-10-07 17:41:20 · answer #7 · answered by noaccount 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just to add a few more to the patronymic list....
Hebrew....
Sweden....
Dutch...
Russian area....
2007-10-08 09:09:02 · answer #8 · answered by Mind Bender 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋