Irish Translation Forum

O' = Desended from
Mac/Mc= Son of

are there anyothers?

Fitz is norman i think for son of

Ó rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

. . . y e a . . .

My moms maiden name is Cullom
but it was MacCullom or something before my family came to Amerika

Collis the Armstrong wrote:. . . y e a . . .

My moms maiden name is Cullom
but it was MacCullom or something before my family came to Amerika

Sounds Scottish, From "son of Colm (the dove)".

Ó came first, and was originally "grandson" but then came to mean "descendent."

Mac came later, probably to differentiate between different Ó's. This was probably about the time that the Gaels were making their way across the water from Antrim to Scotland, which is why there are Mac's in both countries but Ó's only in Ireland.

Fitz is Norman French, and is common throughout Ireland and England. It marks the descendent, in most cases, of the knights and lords who conquered England with William I in 1066 and Ireland under Henry II in 1172. It usually gets translated into Irish as Mac.

De is also found in Irish names (Burke = De Búrca), and is also Norman French.

Ni also means daughter of but is not used commonly anymore

Niamh

Sorry! I was being very patriarchal, wasn't I?

Anyway, Ní is the equivalent of Ó, used by unmarried women.

Nic is the equivalent of Mac, used by unmarried women.

Married women take the genitive of their husband's name, Uí and Mhic respectively.

Since when names were Anglicized it was between the English government (men) and Gaelic chiefs and Hiberno-Norman feudal lords (also men), the male forms were the only ones they cared about

Does that mean if my family name is McLaughlin I should be NicLaughlin?

Have I been mislead all this time?



Niamh

In English, your name is still McLaughlin. Names in English don't get changed for gender.

In Irish, if you are not married or if you choose to keep your maiden name, your name would be Nic Lochlainn.

I am aware of how my name should be said in English but thanks for that.

I was told in School that i would be Ni in Irish and use that on special occasions mainly just to annoy my English boyfriend. It turns out i have been mistaken all along. I am going to look so silly when he finds out!!!


Niamh