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orthography - Why is the letter after "Mc" in names capitalized?


For example, McDowell, or McDonald, or McKenna, etc. Is it necessary to capitalize that letter following "Mc"? And if yes, why is this so?



Answer



As Etymology for Mc and O' in names says, Mc is an abbreviation for Mac, and Mac is a Gaelic term meaning "son of". Hence the name McKenna means "son of Kenna", and since Kenna is a proper name, it is capitalized, even when combined with Mac.


(Of course "mac" alone is itself not a proper name, and from one view wouldn't need to be capitalized. However since it is taken as beginning the whole surname, it is capitalized as the initial letter of a proper name. In this respect, it is treated like English most often treats other borrowed prepositions in names, such as de from French and van from Dutch.)


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