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Amy Chen
Joined: 17 Mar 2008
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:51 pm Post subject: last name |
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Dear teachers:
There is one thing that confuses me. Some last names, like McDonald or MacArthur, the "M" and "D", or the "M" and "A" are capital letters. Do they have special meanings? Thanks for your help. 
Best wishes,
Amy Chen |
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CP
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 2875
Location: California
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| Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:43 am Post subject: |
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Lots of Scottish and Irish surnames begin with Mc or Mac, which I believe mean son of. Others begin with O', which means grandson of.
McDonald / MacDonald = son of Donald
O'Brien = grandson of Brian
Some names today have dropped the prefix. Kennedy used to be O'Kennedy; Ryan used to be O'Ryan.
So many Irish names begin with Mc or Mac that "Mick" became a slightly derogatory term to mean Irishman.
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