UNIT 7 PERSONAL NAMES SURNAMES You may have seen some of these surnames used as first names. ‘What’s in a name?’ This is an old Two of these top five names are expression that people used to say a definitely Gaelic. Campbell is a Scottish lot. It means: ‘What does a person’s Gaelic surname with a funny meaning: name tell us about him or her?’ ‘crooked mouth’.

In Ulster, most of our surnames have • Scottish Gaelic: a meaning. Most of them come from caim = crooked and beul = mouth Ireland or Scotland. Some come from • Irish: England. Other names are a mixture cam = crooked and béal = mouth of words from these regions. So the question is, does your surname tell us However, this surname is not where your ancestors were from? The straightforward. In Ulster, a lot of people answer is, yes, sometimes. called Campbell actually come from an Irish Gaelic background. There is an Let’s begin by thinking about the five Irish surname, Mac Cathmhaoil, which Another thing we need to know is There are surnames like McTavish in most common surnames in Northern is also translated as Campbell. It means that some names which look and Scotland and McComish in Ireland Ireland. ‘son of the battle chieftain’ – nowhere sound English may also be Gaelic. which originally came from a spelling near as funny as ‘crooked mouth’. As you probably know, Mac or Mc like Mac Thomais (in other words, ‘son 1. Wilson both mean ‘son’. of Thomas’). 2. Johnson (or Johnston) So, if your name is Campbell you could 3. Thomson (or Thompson) either be from a Scottish or an Irish So, MacDonald originally meant ‘son of When English became the main 4. Campbell background – but you probably don’t Donald’ and McNeill originally meant language in Ireland and Scotland, 5. Kelly have a crooked mouth and it is very ‘son of Neill or Niall’. this Irish spelling was translated as unlikely that either of your parents Thomson or Thompson. were battle chieftains!

36 37 The term ‘anglicising’ describes Iain, Eoin (Owen) and Sean are all WHAT ABOUT changing names to give them an Gaelic versions of ‘John’, so when CHRISTIAN English look or English spelling. English became the main language in Ireland and Scotland, these names NAMES OR GIVEN BirthThis Certificate certifies that There are some names like McKean in were sometimes anglicised as Johnson NAMES? Scotland, and McKeown and McShane or Johnston or Johnstone. Many Christian or given names Bridget McKean in Ireland that were originally spelt come from Gaelic. Some of was born to something like this: So, while Johnston or Johnstone came them have a definite match in & Donald McKean • Mac Iain from English and certainly sound English, or there might be an Father English, you might have a Gaelic English name which sounds a • Mac Eoin Mary MotherMcKean at background if you have one of those bit similar. • Mac Seáin names and you live here. There are also Scottish Gaelic Dromore, Countyon Down So, let’s return to the original questions: and Irish Gaelic names which ‘What’s in a name?’ and ‘What do are very similar and which 21st August 1864 people’s names tell us about them?’ come from the same root. Here are some examples: Names tell us a little bit about where people may have come from. Here in ENGLISH SCOTTISH GAELIC IRISH Ulster, it is very likely that your name was originally Gaelic – either from Bridget Brìde Bríd Scotland or from the island of Ireland. Donald Dònall Domhnall

Of course, nowadays there are people Kevin Caomhainn Caoimhín in Ireland who come from all over the world or whose parents came here from different places. Even so, it is very likely that their names will be formed SUMMARY in their own language in a similar way • Surnames can tell us a lot about • Many modern Christian names to English, Irish and Scottish Gaelic where our ancestors are from. in Ulster also come from Irish or names. Scottish Gaelic and have been • Many surnames in Ulster today anglicised. come from Irish or Scottish Gaelic originally, and have been anglicised.

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