Ken, The Mc and Mac variations are just a myth! Purely down to how good someone was at spelling in an age when most people with such names were Gaelic speakers let alone able to read and write in English and once a family adopted one spelling or the other, they just stuck to it. You will often see the same person with both spellings and others at varying times in his/her life. The correct spelling of any name is always that used by the Clan chief or head of family if not a clan but there are no hard and fast rules. Cheers Mark John M. Sutherland-Fisher Past President and Genealogist: Clan Sutherland Co-Genealogist: Clan Mackenzie Professional Genealogist and Director: Fisher (Holiday Enterprises) Ltd web-site: www.highland-family-heritage.co.uk email: info@highland-family-heritage.co.uk -----Original Message----- From: The Pict [mailto:thepict@blueyonder.co.uk] Sent: 02 May 2004 16:54 To: PERTHSHIRE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [PERTH] Mac and Mc Can anyone tell me the difference between the Mac and Mc attached to surnames. I had the impression that Mac was Scottish and Mc was Irish. Could it be that the Mc was carried to Ireland from Scotland or am I completely wrong ? Ken Stearn ==== PERTHSHIRE Mailing List ==== -------------------------------------------------- Send all messages to PERTHSHIRE-L@rootsweb.com ONLY use the 'request' address to subscribe or to unsubscribe from the list. http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/SCT/PERTHSHIRE.html --------------------------------------------------