Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1893-01-28
IRISH FAMILY NAMES.
How the Gaelic ,ognomens Have Beer
Trsnsmogrified Into Saxon.

How the Gaelic cognomens Have Beer
Transmoerified Into saxon.
Somebody has been making explora.
tions into the mysteries of the Irish
family name and has discovered won.
derfGl things says the New York
Evening sun. The perplexing thing
about these names is the way IN
which their significance is obscured
by the attempts which were made
during the reign of James l. To crowd
out the Gaelic names by translating
them into Saxon. Sometimes the
translation persisted and sometimes
it did not. Often il became COM
pounded with some Gaelic prefix
For instance: "Gabhan" is Gaelic
for "a smith, . and "MacGabhan." in
its modified form. McGowan was
translated in SmithSon. So Mac
Eoghan," which is the Gaelic for the
son OF John" became johnson, and,
where it remained untranslated, APP
pears to-day in the various form Nc
owen Mckeon, McCune, and Ewing.
In translating the Gaelic into En-.
glish the predxes "Mac," meaning
'son Of" and 80, meaning "a male
descendant, were used indiscrimi-
nately either for men or women, al
though strictly the Gaelic feminine
prefix is "Ni,n meaning "a daughter
Of" Thus the famous Grace O'Mal-
ley, as Englishmen OF the sixteenth
century knew her, was really written
in her own tongue ezra Nj Mhaile. :"
From an Ulster clan bearing the
patronymic "MacAodha, !" slgnifyng
"tire," come the family names Nc.
Kay Mackay Mackey M'Kec, and
Magec; the O'lIays, OHcaS Hayes,
Hays etc, having the same de-
rivation in 'Aohd," "tre, which
is alIowably pronounced in one OF
two ways, either like ay in day OF
like ee in "meet.r
"Aonghus' signitied "the shrewd
one" and is perpetuated to-day with
the prefix 'Mac," in Machines, Ma.
ginnls. and Guinness. 1t is also from
the Gaelic word with a certain sunk
''aigh," and sometimes with the pre-.
fix O, that we have the names Hen.
nessey and O'HIennessy settling upon
the descendants thereof
From the word ''segart." signifying
a priest, we have Taggart, and Nc
Taggert; from "MacPhaidin," the
'son OF little Patrick, we have Nc.
Fadden; from "Giola Dia, "a serv-
ant of God the English Glider; from
'Giola Christ, "a servant of Christ. "
Gilchrist, and from "Oiola Mhuire, "
"a servant of Mary" Gilmore and
Gilmer. The same prefix APP
pears in Fitzpatrick and Gilbrde.
/ somewhat like this is the prefix
''maol," meaning first, "bald, and
finally coming to mean zone devoted
to- as a disciple, " through association
with the tonsure of the monks. This
syllable is preserved in Malcolm, "a
disciple Of st. Colm;" Mallory, "a
disciple of Mary" Malone, Mooney,
and Muldoon.
Conner was once written Conn
| chobhair" and had the hearty signih-
canoe OF 1.-THE War-hOund of help "
while Gallagher is ''Gallchohair, "
1.-THE helping stranger McGillicuddy
is bad enough as 1T stands, but one
can be thankful ever for that, re-
membering that i. was first written
MAC Giola Mhochudha" and signi-
| fed "the son Of st. Mochudha's serv-
ant I" The great changes that have
slipped into all the names no doubt
grew out OF the fact that the Gaels
were wholly illiterate both in their
own tongue and in English, and that
the only guide which the English
strangers had to the photography of
the names was the pronunciation Of
the owner No doubt "Tordhalbhack
Mac Giola Mhochudia" came trip
pingly enough from the lips of the
owner, but is it any wonder that
from Saxon lips it grew into Terence
| MacGillicuddy?