In a message dated 02/4/12 10:00:46 AM, j.w.dvorak@worldnet.att.net writes: << Meighan in my tree.....The name could have been misspelled in our case, as now we spell the name "Mithen" or "Meithen" or "Meithan"......the name in my great grandmother's marriage certificate lists her maiden name as MEIGHAN. >> In a message dated 02/4/12 10:22:45 AM, HRkemp@aol.com writes: << Mary Mc Gahey. I have also found it spelled McGaughey. >> John & Helen, You both point out one of the problems of surname study. Many different ways to spell can all be one or separate families, anciently or more recently related. I suppose if I knew how these folk pronounced their name, it would help, although, not necessarily define the "truth." I'll look into the Celt origins, but I'm sure the following are all modern phonemic variations of the name: (may - ghan) (may - hee) (may - han) (mee - ghan) (mee - han) I'm no Celt linguist, but I'm currently under the impression that the common "gh" combination of letters was an Anglo translation of what Celts pronounced as "v" or "w". These later became a more "g" or "h" sounds as English overtook native languages. This is my very amateur memory working here, so expert advise is welcomed and further study will be pursued. I'll have to revisit the Fianna site and related links for more insight. We'll keep digging! Diane (Die - an)