Manx surnames

Location of the Isle of Man.

Manx surnames are surnames which originate on the Isle of Man. The general make up of Manx surnames reflects the recorded history of the island, which can be divided into three different eras - Gaelic, Norse, and English. In consequence most Manx surnames are derived from the Gaelic, Norse, and English languages. During the first era of recorded history the island was occupied by Celtic speaking peoples. Irish missionaries later Christianised the island. By the 9th century Norse Vikings (generally from Norway) ruled the island. By the 13th century the island became a possession of the Kingdom of Scotland and also at times under the Kingdom of England. In time the island came under direct domination of the English, and as a result became open to immigration from the British mainland.^[1]

Very few Manx surnames are recorded prior to the arrival of the Stanleys in 1405. The majority of early surnames are recorded in the Manorial Rolls dating from 1510-1513. More recent sources of surnames are Parish records which began at the beginning of the 17th century.^[2]

Arthur William Moore analysed the origin Manx surnames in use at the beginning of the 19th century. Of 170 surnames, about 100 (65 percent) are of Celtic origin, about 30 (17.5 percent) were of Norse-Gaelic origin.^[3]

Gaelic, Norse and English eras

During the first era of recorded history the island was occupied by Celtic speaking peoples. Irish missionaries later Christianised the island. During the era of Norse rule, Old Norse speaking settlers intermarried with the Gaelic speaking native population. In this way Norse personal names were found their way into common use by the Manx. During the influence of English domination, many surnames were introduced to the island. Some of these names were translated into the native language of the island. However, the use of the English language on the island meant that many Manx surnames became Anglicised or Englished. Immigration from Ireland brought Hiberno-Norman surnames to the island as well.^[4]

Patronymics and the loss of the prefix Mac

Patronymic names were formed by the use of the Gaelic prefix Mac to the father's name. The "Irish" O never took root among Manx names. By the early 16th century the Mac prefix was almost universally used on the island, however by the 17th century it had almost completely disappeared. The pronunciation of the prefix mac was unstressed, so that the final consonant became first consonant in the second element of the name (the father's personal name). When the Mac prefix fell out of use the final consonant became the first sound of the surname. Because of this, many Manx names characteristically begin with the letters C, K, or Q. Patronymic forms of personal names beginning with element Giolla "servant of" (example: MacGillchrist) went under a transformation of their own. The prefix Mac and the element Giolla were contracted into Myley. For example, MacGillchrist became Mylechreest or Mylchreest.^[4]

Prior to the mid-17th century there many instances of female surnames using the prefix Ine, a Gaelic contraction meaning "daughter". From the mid-17th century onwards the prefix generally fell out of use, though Inney survived as a Christian name for a century afterwards.^[4] According to J. J. Kneen, there are several instances of feminine surnames using Ine as late as the early 19th century.^[5]

Surname comparisons tables

1986 surname rank by occurrences

The following table shows the top ten surnames found in the 1986 telephone directory on the Isle of Man. The ten names are compared to the 1881 their census ranking.^[6]

1986	Surname	1881
1	Kelly	1
2	Corlett	4
3	Quayle	2
4	Moore	7
5	Cain (Caine was 47)	3
6	Christian	5
7	Kneale	18
7	Teare	14
9	Clague	6
10	Shimmin	16

1881 surname rank by occurrences

The following table ranks Manx surnames by occurrences in the 1881 census.^[7] See footnote for the legend to the table.^{[note 1]}

Surname	Total	Frequency	Index
Kelly	2118	3.9041	35.6479
Quayle	1349	2.4866	375.7242
Corlett	1139	2.0995	368.3342
Moore	944	1.7401	8.7017
Clague	882	1.6258	456.7345
Christian	873	1.6092	162.2616
Cain	790	1.4562	70.1231
Quirk	637	1.1742	246.7653
Watterson	632	1.1650	359.6836
Cannell	612	1.1281	260.8807

1881 rank by population index

This table lists the surnames of the 1881 census which have the highest percentage of appearing on the Isle of Man. The important column in this table is the Index column. This table shows the most "Manx" surnames in Great Britain. See the previous footnote for the legend to the table.^[7]

Surname	Total	Frequency	Index
Carine	78	0.1438	538.3023
Kewish	89	0.1641	528.5036
Comish	108	0.1991	497.0087
Clague	882	1.6258	456.7345
Costain	304	0.5604	448.7085
Corkill	611	1.1262	444.9785
Kennaugh	243	0.4479	442.7036
Faragher	295	0.5438	424.0943
Kissack	323	0.5954	423.5510
Shimmin	609	1.1226	421.2784

See also

Isle of Man portal

• Family name, description of family names
• History of the Isle of Man, Manx history

Footnotes

1. ^ The Total column represents the total number of people with the surname. The Frequency column represents the percentage of people on the Isle of Man with this surname. The Index column represents the probability of finding the surname in Man, compared to the probability of finding it in the rest of Great Britain. A number 1 in this column shows that there is the same chance of finding this surname at random on the Isle of Man as there is in whole of Great Britain (a 2 would show twice as much, and a 10 shows ten times as much).^[7]

References

1. ^ Reaney, Percy Hilde; Wilson, Richard Middlewood (2006) (PDF). A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. pp. LI, LII. ISBN 0-203-99355-1. 
2. ^ "Sources for Family Names". Manx Notebook (www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook). http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/famhist/fnames/sources.htm. Retrieved 15 December 2008. 
3. ^ Moore, Arthur William (1890) (PDF). The Surnames & Place-names of the Isle of Man. London: Elliot Stock. p. 11. http://www.archive.org/details/surnamesplacenam00mooruoft. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Moore, Arthur William (1890) (PDF). The Surnames & Place-names of the Isle of Man. London: Elliot Stock. pp. 1–21. http://www.archive.org/details/surnamesplacenam00mooruoft. 
5. ^ Jones, Heather Rose (1998). "Manx Names in the Early 16th Century". Medieval Scotland (www.medievalscotland.org). http://www.medievalscotland.org/manxnames/jonesmanx16.shtml. Retrieved 13 December 2008. 
6. ^ "Manx Surnames from 1881 census". Manx Notebook (www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook). http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/famhist/fnames/sn1881.htm. Retrieved 15 December 2008. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} "Top surnames in Isle of Man from the 1881 British Census". British Surnames (www.britishsurnames.co.uk). http://www.britishsurnames.co.uk/1881census/Isle+of+Man. Retrieved 16 December 2008.