Scottish Patronymic Names

These are the names usually represented in Lowland Scotland by the suffix, son. But with them must be taken the forenames, which became surnames, and are really truncated patronymics, such as, Henry, Mitchell (for Michael) and Arthur. The development of names of this type was more subtle than it was in the first three categories. Designations changed generation by generation. Robert's son might be John Robertson, his son Andrew Johnson, his son Peter Anderson, etc. This system was general in all the northern lands, and it extended to women, with forms that would translate as, for example, Elspeth Johns daughter. In Shetland, patronymic names persisted in many families until the nineteenth century, so that there are examples such as, Arthur Anderson, son of Andrew Robertson, or James Manson, son of Magnus Oalson. Strangely, women sometimes used the suffix, son, as in Isabella Johnson, daughter of John Williamson. Throughout most of Lowland Scotland, genuine patronymic practice ended after the fifteenth century. This happened when an individual decided, or some authority decided for him, that he would adopt his father's patronymic as his own surname. Thus, the son of John Robertson called himself not Andrew Johnson but Andrew Robertson. And from that point, Robertson became the surname of his descendants. It was clearly a matter of chance in which generation the patronymic became the final surname. So that in the example just given, had the decision been taken a generation later, the surname of the family would have been Johnson, not Robertson. The above example shows the dangers of attempting to use surnames of patronymic form as guides to remote ancestry. Half-a-dozen Robertsons are probably descended from half-a-dozen different Roberts who lived in different parts of the country at different times, and have no kinship with each other. It is only by chance that they are called "Robertson" and not Johnson or Anderson.In the Highlands and Galloway, where "son of" was denoted by the prefix, Mac, rather than by the suffix, son, patronymic names were more common than they were in the Lowlands. The Mac could be prefixed to craft names as well as to forenames, giving, for example, Mac ant-saoir, son of the joiner, which became Macintyre, also, for example, the group of names denoting descent from an ecclesiastic: Macnab, Mactaggart, Macpherson and Macvicar, meaningson of the abbot, the priest, the parson, and the vicar, respectively. Names were sometimes carried into two or three stages by using Vic (Mhic, the genitive ofMac). Sixteenth-century examples are Angus MacDonald Vic Angus, son of Donald MacAngus, and Alastair MacAllane Vic Ane Vic Coull. Here is an interesting example from 1617: Hector MacGorrie Vic Achan Vic Allester Vic Ean duff, son of Gorrie MacAchan Vic Allester Vic Eanduff. In women's names, Nean (nighean), meaning "daughter of," could replace Mac, giving patronymics like Margaret nean Ean glas Vic Ilespig. Names of this type, recorded in official registers, were not surnames, and, while individuals so recorded may have had surnames, their surnames were not used in the record. Identification may consequently be difficult for the researcher.

For instance, but for their territorial designation of Lochiel, how would anyone know that the men recorded in the mid-sixteenth century as Ewan Allanson, John Dow, his son, and Ewan, his grandson, were in fact all Camerons? The use of genuine patronymics in records continued well into the eighteenth century. For example, in South Uist, in 1721, there were names like Jonn MacEwan Vic Ean Vic Charles, and Murdo MacNeil Vic Ean Vic Duill. In some Highland families the prefix Mac meant not only son of but also descendant of. Such a patronymic, persisting generation by generation, became a surname. An example is MacDonald. Angus of the Isles, in the later thirteenth century, was the son of Donald, and his successors retained MacDonald, not so much as a surname in the modern sense, but as a mark of their descent. However, most of the many MacDonalds of later times had no kinship with the descendants of Angus, or necessarily descended from anyone called Donald. The process by which the genuine surname replaced personal designations that changed from generation to generation, took a long time to complete. There are instances throughout the sixteenth century, in almost any part of the country, that show some people with more than one designation, and it is difficult to say which, if any, of the designations was a real surname. If a man had a name of patronymic form and a craft name, like Robertson or Pottar, it is difficult to tell which is a genuine patronymic and which is no more than the name of his actual occupation. William Davidson or Litstar, and Matthew Paterson or Litstar, were both priests, but the Litstar (i.e. dyer) is the surname. In the case of Andrew Wilson or Tailor, the son of Andrew Wilson, the name Wilson was the surname, not Tailor. Also there are surnames originating from a place-name combined with a patronymic, such as Alexander Murray or Anguson.

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