Mc Last Name Generator

Generate surnames that begin with Mc or Mac, from McCarthy, McAllister and McKenna to MacLeod, McIntyre and McGillicuddy. All 500 are Irish and Scottish family names built on the Gaelic word for son, one per entry.

About Mc last names

Mc surnames are the family names that begin with Mc or Mac, from the Gaelic word mac, son. McDonald is the son of Donald and McWilliam the son of William, and the name then stayed with every later generation. Mc is simply a short way of writing Mac, so the two spellings say the same thing and neither belongs to one country. McCarthy, McMahon and McNamara are Irish names, MacDonald, MacLeod and MacKenzie are Scottish, and in Ulster the two traditions meet. Which spelling a family uses is a matter of habit, not of origin.

Not every Mc name holds a first name. Some hold a trade or an office: McIntyre is son of the carpenter, McGowan son of the smith, McTaggart son of the priest and McNab son of the abbot. The many names in McIl and McEl, such as McIlroy, McElroy and McElhinney, keep a worn-down giolla or gille, a lad, servant or follower, often of a saint.

The list is mostly Mc forms, with fifty names in the Mac spelling where that form is the usual one or a well-known second one. Every entry begins with M, so think by the letter after the prefix instead. The C and G names are by far the largest groups.

How to choose Mc last names

• Choose by the letter after Mc. For a hard, clipped sound look for C, G and K names such as McCracken, McGurk and McKittrick. For something softer try the vowels: McAuley, McElwee, McIlveen.
• Let the setting suggest the spelling without treating it as proof. A Highland family reads naturally as MacGregor or MacKinnon, a Cork family as McCarthy and a Donegal one as McLaughlin or McGinley, but both spellings turn up on both sides of the water.
• Keep the capitals as the list has them and keep them the same for a whole family. Most names take a capital after the prefix, as in McDonald and MacDonald, while a few families write theirs as one word, as in Mackintosh.
• Say the full name aloud. Long names such as McGillicuddy and McCorquodale sit best after a short first name, and short ones such as McKee, McCue and McKay can carry a longer one.
• For an American family, McCoy, McDaniel, McClendon, McLemore and McCray are spellings that are especially at home in the United States.

Frequently asked questions

Is Mc Irish and Mac Scottish?

No. Both spellings are found in both countries, because Mc is only an abbreviation of Mac. McCarthy and McGrath are Irish and McLean and McIntyre are Scottish, while MacMahon and MacNamara are Irish names in the longer spelling. A surname in either form does not prove where a family came from or which clan it belonged to.

What does Mc mean in a last name?

It means son of. The word is the Gaelic mac, and the rest of the name is usually a forefather's first name, as in McDonald and McAndrew, or his trade or office, as in McGowan and McTaggart. The name is the same for men and women in its English form.

What are some common Mc last names?

Among the ones you meet most are McDonald, McCarthy, McLaughlin, McLean, McKenzie, McMahon, McGrath, McIntyre, McCormick and McGuire. All of them are in the list, which is not ranked, so rarer names such as McIlvenna, McOmish and McStravick come up just as often.

Is every surname that starts with Mac a Mc name?

No. Names such as Mack, Macey, Machado and Macias start with the same letters but have nothing to do with the Gaelic word for son, so they are left out. Every entry here is an Irish or Scottish name in which Mc or Mac is the prefix.

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All 500 Mc last names