Surnames

Published on Friday 30 June 2006 16:03

You now have a number of tools to start you on your quest. But before you rush off and lose yourself in the distant past, here are a few words of warning about names.

Accessing the past

Yourself and family sources

Official records

Emigration

The Internet

First Names

When it came to recording any information, your ancestors would have told it to an enumerator who wrote it down in the official documentation. At times these men had difficulty making out accents, and some of their spellings were exotic, to say the least. You may know your great-grandmother's name was Isabella, but don't be put off if you come across an Eselbaua in an official form. It could be that the enumerator couldn't spell or that is what he thought your great granny’s name really was.

To Mc or Mac?

The simple answer is do both. Your surname may be Macdonald, but if you are not getting the results you were expecting try Mcdonald. And while you're at it, you may as well try MacDonald, McDonald and any other spelling you think is possible.

Patronymics

Most people know that "Mac" or "Mc" is the Gaelic form for "son of", so it is easy to make the mistake of thinking that just because you're a MacArthur that means that you all ultimately derive from some mythical "Arthur". But Scottish patronymics are not as straightforward as that. It was only under the clan system that whole families began to take the same surname, and initially people took the surname of the chief; it did not mean that they were related, simply affiliated in some way.

Initially patronymics followed a different system whereby names evolved from father's names. So John Robert would have a child called Donald Robertson, who would have a child called Andrew Donaldson who would have a child called Peter Anderson and so on. Which means you ought not to discard a surname if it doesn’t tally with yours.