Mac's and Mc's

[Tom Wade]

be easy on me, i'm from new jersey...

i always understand Mc as in... Paul McCartney
as being the Irish spelling

and Mac, as in .... Shane MacGowan
as being the Scottish way of spelling it.

he's not scottish.
and i'm sure someone knows more about this than i do.

[Zuzana]

"Mac" is the word for "son" both in Irish and Scottish. Here’s some more detailed info (taken from here, not from my memory ):

"The prefix Mac (also spelled Mc or less commonly M' or M with a superscript c) is extremely common in family names of Irish or Scottish Gaelic origin. Mac is the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for "son," and is thus equivalent to the element -son in family names of English origin. It also appears, especially in Scottish names, before the names of saints or before occupational names (e.g. McWhirter, from a Scottish Gaelic word for 'harpist'). Mac always appears before a name, like Fitz- in "Fitzgerald," which is from Anglo-French fi(t)z 'son'. In Gaelic Mac is usually written as a separate word; Macdonald, for example, is an Anglicized version of Mac Dhomhnuill.

Mac is related to words for "son" in other Celtic languages also, notably Welsh and Cornish mab, which in Old Welsh was map (the relationship between the "k" sound in Irish and Scottish Gaelic and the "p/b" sound in Welsh is a regular feature of these languages). Map gave rise to the Welsh prefix Ap, which is equivalent to Mac but is less common; one example is the family name Price, a reduction of Ap Rhys 'son of Rhys'.

The use of hereditary surnames arose in Ireland much earlier than in most countries. These names, with Mac or Ó (which means 'grandson or descendant of'), were often shared by the members of a clan or a group living in the same region even if they did not have a common ancestor."

Welcome to the forum, btw!

[Tom Wade]

thank you very much for welcoming me. very informative reply, also.


i've got to be one of the newest pogues fans. heard about them through Tom Waits. no directly, no Tom breath in my ear. i bought a cheap hits cd. loved it, bought Rum, , , then went directly to The Snake. that's where i stand. i hear they're re-issuing a lot of their stuff, so i'm waiting to buy "if i should fall from grace..."

i really get into bands, and try and see who they are...so, not just the music, but the people have to be interesting. found that. i like to know as much about them that i can, so....teach me teach me.



-Tom

[territa]

Here you go, Tom -- this will take you through the first few years:

http://hometown.aol.com/skovar1/myhomep ... ecade.html

essential reading. Enjoy!

[firehazard]

All the Pogues albums have now been reissued on CD. My advice would be to get the first three first - Red Roses, Rum, Sodomy..., and If I Should Fall...
If you can it's worth getting the new "Ultimate Pogues" collection. 2 CDs, the first is a greatest hits comp, but Disc 2 is a brilliant live CD from Brixton 2001. It gives a real taste of a Pogues live gig. Essential listening for fans new or old!

[John Powers]

I have been thinking about this same thing too. So there is no difference between Mac and Mc?

[MacRua]

From semantic point of view - no.
But as a part of surname... I suppose owners care for letter "a"

[Guest]

No there's no difference. Believe it or not some members of my family spell it Mac some spell it Mc and then some spell it Mac space new word for the rest of the surname.

This has only become a big problem since internet search engines which insist on precise spellings!!