Dear Madeleine, Black, in "Surnames of Scotland" confirms your hypothesis of the anglicisation of Mac Donnchaidh to (son of) Duncan.This must have been a very ancient name in the Gaelic world as the name DONNCHAD appears early in Ireland as well; the name later became DENIS, in some cases. In 717 AD, the abbott of Iona (then called 'Hii'), DUNCHAD died. Black cites "Adamnan" p.379. as his source. My own family were the Mac Camelynes of Bute, Kames Castle was their home. The name became Bannantyne>Bannatyne>Ballantine over the next 800 years (as well as other variant sp.s). I suspect that the fact Bute came to be split between the Campbell and Stewart Clans led to the Chiefs' spending more time currying favor in the the Lowland Capital. As a result, Lowlander and English speech were valued by these powerful politically motivated Clans. I agree with your ideas but feel that internal motives were also at work. I have Black's "Surnames of Scotland". It is great for historical purposes but not very helpful in searching individual families. Will do look-ups as I have for other Lists unless the requests become overwhelming. Scots were great travellers and many left home for greener pastures. I did not realize that there was a large group of incoming Lowlanders & British in Bute. Could you provide more information about that to a descendant in the U.S. with the usual misleading "historical" education? I would be very grateful for this. BTW, anyone have any Bannatyne/Ballantyne/Ballantine ancestors in Bute, Glasgow or Ayr, ca. 1600-50, esp. William B's? Mine was a cooper who misled the good Puritans in Boston, Mass. Bay Colony, when he arrived there and married the daughter, Hannah, of a prominent citizen. Her father was English, a shoemaker, named Angell Hollard. Wm's family had been, historically, a Sept of the Campbells. Turns out he was not from Ayr, according to his Colonial compatriots who thought he may have been an agent of the Clan Stewart, e.g. a secret Catholic!!! In Puritan Boston! Never proven, tho. Daphne Jacob Hello everyone, Anglicisation of surnames was linked to the decline of Gaelic and an influx of English-speakers to Bute, I believe. People without Gaelic found the names difficult to pronounce. Officials - teachers, registrars etc - anglicised the names perhaps. I think the names were either turned into a form easier for an English speaker to get their tongue round or possibly they were translated. For example, according to Angus Martin, writing about Kintyre - just across the water from Bute - Duncan represents Mac Dhonnchaidh (MacConnochie) "son of Duncan". Possibly The Surnames of Scotland by G F Black would tells us more. Does anyone have access to a copy? Angus Martin has the following to say on anlicisation of surnames in Kintyre. "There is no doubt that for many an ambitious person .... intent on social advancement, the Gaelic stamp on his character was reckoned a misfortune and a handicap. A vernacular manner of speech anbd the ingrained traits upbringing may be eradicated .... but what would one do with such a name as Brolachan or Loynachan? The answer of course is that one would change it." But he says motives of self-advancement don't explain the rash of surname changes which took hold in the eighteenth century. "In a society which - in south Kintyre at any rate - was increasingly succumbing to Lowland ways and in which the Lowland model increasing represented advancement in that society, Gaelic and the outward marks of the Gaelic character were becoming unavoidably declasse. The reasoning, whether conscious or otherwise, may be expressed thus - if one's surname was being torn out of its Gaelic mould and hammered into something more resembling a Scotch or English form, then why resist? The greater number of name changes were, therefore, simply the product of a long process of trasmutation on the lips of people and at the hands of scribes who were ignorant of Gaelic orthography." >From "Kintyre The Hidden Past" by Angus Martin Bill - many thanks for doing all the look-ups and posting the census info to the list, Madeleine ==== ButeshireGenWeb Mailing List ====