Why do some people get Mc-before their last names?

Question

Like John McCain or Henry McCoy. what is the story behind it, which makes me so curious. Are they related to Mcdonalds???

Answer 1

Mc (most often Irish) and Mac (most often Scottish) are prefixes that are equivalent to the Nordic suffixes of "son" and "sen" - they all mean "son of" or "descendant of"...

Answer 2

Mc and Mac are words from Scotland and Ireland which mean "son of" - Therefore MacDonald means son of Donald, etc.

Answer 3

True, but  surnames beginning with, "Mc" can also originate from Scotland.  In many cases, such as "McMullen," for instance,  the name was actually "MacMullen" from Scotland.

Answer 4

Mac, Mc and Fitz means son of

The prefix O means descendant of.

Answer 5

Jessmy5 got it right.

Answer 6

Mc and O' are Irish patronymics while Mac is a Scottish patronymic meaning "son of" just as Johnson means "son of John".  For example, McDonald, MacDonald, O'Donnell, and Donaldson all mean son of Donald.  Many Scots living in the United States have shortened the Mac to Mc.  Not everyone who has the same Scottish or Irish surname is related--never mind those whose name starts with Mac or Mc.

Answer 7

The preffix Mc originated in Ireland.  It means "son of" in Ireland so you have a lot of McDonald, McGinnis, McWhatever because that's what their dad's names were.  Someone with the last name McCain is not automatically related to someone with the last name McDonald.  

The Prefix Mac is the same idea except from Scotland.

Answer 8

They were part of clans