Mac Names

Despite its appearance, McGill is not related to any of the Gil- names, including Gilbert, Gilford, and Gilson. The "gill" piece is derived from the Gaelic word gall, meaning "foreigner." Yet, it could still be used to honor a Gil in your life.

This highly recognizable surname means "son of Artan," an Irish derivative of the name Art. It's most closely tied to Beatle Paul McCartney — we'd be willing to bet that some of the parents who give this name to their children each year are fans.

McKay is the Anglicized form of Mac Aodha, meaning "son of Aodh" in Gaelic. Aodh is the origin of names such as Aidan and Hugh, making McKay a subtle way to honor people with those names.

Alternatively, the name might be a variation of Mckayla, Michaela, and similar, making it a form of Michael, or, it could be translated as "song of Kay".

Although highly associated with the internet security company, McAfee joined the reams of possible baby names when it was used for the female character McAfee Westbrook in the Netflix series The Politician.

This Macallister variation is strongly associted with Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Unless it's your alma mater, it might be wise to stick with the original.

MacKay is the Anglicized form of Mac Aodha, meaning "son of Aodh" in Gaelic. Aodh is the origin of names such as Aidan and Hugh, making McKay a subtle way to honor people with those names. It could also work as an alternative for of Mackayla, derived from Michael, or to honor a Kay.

MacKay is the Anglicized form of Mac Aodha, meaning "son of Aodh" in Gaelic. Aodh is the origin of names such as Aidan and Hugh, making McKay a subtle way to honor people with those names. It could also work as an alternative for of Mackayla, derived from Michael, or to honor a Kay.

The Mc and Mac surnames are asserting themselves as first names and this is one of the most popular. Though outside the U.S. Top 1000, it's among the fastest rising names for boys.

Scottish and Irish Mac and Mc surnames are definitely up for consideration, and this one has sports cred via its link to tennis champ John. It was one of the fastest-rising names on Nameberry in early 2018, though this hasn't translated into real-life use yet. We still think it's one of the coolest undiscovered Scottish names for boys.